A Black Heart Does Not Always Stay Black
by kittyface27
Summary: "Killing machine", eight year old Luffy kidnaps an emperors's son, only to be later welcomed onto that ship with his two brothers. What happens when love and care surrounds him, even with his horrifying abilities? And what happens when he's not the only one on the ship with a black heart? Rated M for a lot of violence (murder) and emotional trauma. Some swearing and graphic scenes
1. A Sad Past and Kidnapping a Commander

**Back with another story! This one is the longest I've ever written. I'm amazed at the word count. Disclaimers: Luffy is put through the wringer in this one, there are minor spoilers for the Wano Arc up to chapter 969. I have made the few spoilers in bold text, so do your best to skip those. It mostly has to do with Whitebeard's past and bounty. Nothing too serious. Also featuring: made up science! Well, ****science**** I sorta warped. I'm not gonna spoil anything about Luffy's supposed devil fruit since that's a mystery in the story. Tons of minor character deaths, mostly people no one likes. Graphic depictions of violence at the hands of Luffy. The story focuses on him more than his brothers, but they are main characters as well. Anyways, please enjoy and I hope you stay for the ****long-haul****! The chapters vary in length, but none are super small. Also, I haven't seen Marineford arc in awhile and just noticed I got some of Marco's powers wrong, but not SUPER wrong.**

**recommendations****: look up the newest "venom" movie, and Venom's black slime is how Luffy's power appears. **

**Enjoy~**

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Two boys hid inside a dumpster from the men destroying the entire village, just because a noble had wanted it. Marines came and ravaged their precious home. No one could stop them; there were just too many with guns and swords. Ace and Sabo could hear screams, gunshots, the thuds of dead bodies hitting the ground. They were both covering each other's mouths, trying to not be found.

The massacre went on for at least twenty minutes before new screams came, louder ones and the sounds of blood spilling and splattering around the place. Ace and Sabo didn't know what was happening now, but things were getting quieter as screams and shouts died down until there was no sound left.

They thought they had gotten away, would be the only ones to live. No more sounds were making it to their ears, so they had hope they were safe. They would stay put for awhile just to make sure. The silence stayed for a good five minutes before both heard footsteps coming closer.

The blood drained out of their faces when the footsteps stopped right outside of their hiding place. Slowly, so painfully slowly, the lid of the dumpster was opened by small hands. Light flooded into the dark space, hurting Ace and Sabo's eyes from the sudden brightness, until their eyes focused and they saw a child, no older than six, standing outside of the dumpster, peeking inside.

He had black hair, dark eyes and what looked like some sort of tattoo stretching from his forehead, over his eyebrow, down his eye and to the middle of his cheek. He would be cute if it weren't for his dark eyes, which looked dead and blank.

They both assumed it was a child who had somehow survived the massacre, but they were wrong. When they both peeked their heads out, they finally noticed that the kid was splattered with blood all over his arms, legs and chest. All that was clean was his face. He threw open the lid of the dumpster with strength that a six year old shouldn't have. At least, they thought that was his age.

What they didn't know was that this _monster _who had killed everyone, all of the marines, would become their beloved brother not two months after meeting him.

-x-

"Hey, Lu. How did it go?" Sabo asked kindly once Luffy entered their room. The three heard the door slide shut and lock loudly as they were again isolated, cameras watching their every move. Luffy was dressed in his white pyjamas, socks on and looking very innocent, even after he came back from a mission to kill a whole island.

Ace and Sabo hated that Luffy was used like this, but they couldn't voice that with how they were recorded at all times. They had to act like there was no problem. Like this was normal, being locked away. They especially had to fake for Luffy, who didn't know this was not how most kids grew up.

"Okay," Luffy replied. He was washed of the blood that he'd been covered in, clean and smelling like lavender. Ace and Sabo frowned behind his back. They wished they could leave, but it wasn't safe, not at all, for them or for anyone who angered Luffy.

Though the boy loved his brothers and never hurt them, no matter if they got in arguments, it couldn't be said to be the same for anyone else. Even those who ruled this place didn't come into direct contact with the boy. Too many people had been killed by angering him to make it so the most important people didn't get slaughtered.

Luffy was a killing machine in his other form, while he was a sweet child when he was a human. Ace and Sabo had never seen his other form, but they knew it was a monster. They also knew that he was used for that. That he was sent on missions that he didn't see anything wrong with.

Ace and Sabo were only there because Luffy wanted them, and when he wanted something, it was best to give it to him. Their room was full of toys, coloring books, stuffed animals. It was a child's dream, but it didn't change the fact that Luffy was just a pawn. An important one, but a pawn nonetheless.

But, he didn't know that, and it broke Ace and Sabo's hearts. If it weren't for Luffy's protection, they had no doubt they'd have been killed long ago. It seemed that they were cathartic for Luffy. That they made him tame, and when he was away from them, he grew cold and dangerous. With his devil fruit, it made him extremely strong even when he was in child form.

Sea stone didn't work on his fruit, since it was not a normal fruit. They never saw it, was told it was some sort of zoan fruit. Ace stood and walked over to Luffy, who was looking at the ceiling sadly. Neither knew why, but they didn't ask. Luffy would tell them if he was comfortable. Ace sat on the bed and brushed the hair out of his little brother's face.

"Are you okay?" Ace asked gently. Luffy nodded, smiling at his big brother. Before he met them and took them home, he was lonely. Now he always had them except when he went on missions. "Do you want to play a game?" Luffy sat up and nodded.

To be honest, Ace and Sabo were bored out of their minds here. They were not allowed to leave the room. Luffy was, but only to go on his missions. They got food at least. A lot, and it was good quality, too. They also had a nice bathroom, with a big tub. They had to help Luffy bathe when it wasn't to get rid of blood and grime.

He was weak in the water since he'd eaten the mystery fruit. Ace got out the card game they played very often, Sabo joining in. Despite how nice it was here, it was all a farce. They were not in some warm and cozy home. They were in a staged room in a cold facility. Luffy didn't understand this, and the two older brothers didn't want to confuse or upset him with the truth.

Some day, they wanted to take him out of this place, though they would have to be careful and maybe teach him to not kill people just for making him mad. The guards and workers here might be disposable, but normal people were not. But Luffy didn't know that killing was wrong. He grew up doing so, after all. It was just normal to him.

But, he would never dream of hurting his brothers. He loved them, as best as he knew how to love. They played the game for awhile until dinner came. Then, they all went to bed on the large bed they shared. It was massive, and left all of them a lot of room. It was at least comfortable, but Ace and Sabo missed being free, even if they lived in filth at their home village. Here, they were pampered, but they would rather be free. And to free Luffy from this place. It wasn't a home, not somewhere a little boy should grow up in. Not a place anyone should be forced to stay in.

Luffy was a prisoner in his own life and didn't even know it.

-x-

Luffy had been harmed in his last mission, and was in the infirmary for a couple days. His brothers were given no information about what had happened, which angered them both. They were very worried.

The youngest had been attacked with water that burned him in his devil fruit form. It was holy water, apparen'tly. No one knew how anyone else knew about Luffy's fruit. He was knocked out, and burned across his arm, which was in bandages. He was kept sedated to not risk him going out of control.

Since sea stone didn't work on him, part of him was trying to fight back against he unknown hands, but he was too tired for it to do anything. All it was was the disgusting, sticky looking black substance that covered his body in zoan form. It formed and reformed, gripping at the bed like sticky fingers. Or like gum mixed with some sort of black oil.

He was treated for the burns, and was also strapped down, just in case he woke up. Not that it would really do any good if he shifted. The room would be destroyed and everyone inside massacred if he woke and grew angry or afraid. The nurses and doctors were on edge the entire time they treated him, hoping that the sedative would continue to work.

The gooey substance making up his arm eventually changed back to the soft and tan skin of his human body. He was kept sedated the entire time and stayed that way until he was eventually brought back to his brothers, who were livid with not being told what had happened. Seeing the bandages along his arm angered them but also worried them. How did he get hurt?

When Luffy woke up, he was disoriented. "Where? Ace, Sabo?" he asked. The two hurried over to him and asked how he felt. "Tired. Hurt on my arm," Luffy replied. He asked what had happened, and neither were able to tell him.

"We don't know, no one told us. You got hurt and I guess the doctors treated you. Try not to move that arm too much, okay?" Luffy nodded, and said he was thirsty. Since they were monitored all day, every day, a water bottle was slotted through the tube connected to the outside.

It annoyed Ace and Sabo every time they were reminded that nothing was private, but they brought the water to Luffy, who downed it quickly. He didn't recount his mission, like he never did. They were meaningless to Luffy, and he'd rather hear stories said by Sabo. He didn't know they were stories of truth, about the outside world. He thought they were made up, which saddened his brothers.

His arm healed quickly, and soon he was back to being on missions. One that was especially dangerous. Ace and Sabo weren't told what it was, so they thought it was just a normal one. Well, as normal as it could be. Having a child as a killing machine was not normal, no matter how Luffy thought it was. Ace and Sabo knew it _wasn't normal. _And it _wasn't right._

-x-

Luffy stood on the shore of the island his mission was on. There was someone he had to find and steal. He didn't know who it was, or why. He just knew it was his job to do so, and he would. Then he could get back home sooner to his brothers. He liked being with them much more than his missions, even if being in his other form was comfortable. And fun to be able to be how he was.

He didn't know the concept of freedom, or even the word, but that would be how he described his time in his zoan form. He walked through the village, holding a photo of who he was supposed to take. He wasn't told who or why he was being stolen, but it was his job. Always his job and he must do them well or master would be mad.

Luffy didn't like master being mad. He said mean things about Ace and Sabo. He didn't like that, Ace and Sabo were precious to him. He didn't dare harm master, knowing that would be a bad idea. So, he did his job with no protests, not that he thought there was any reason to do so. After all, he was praised when he did a good job, which was always.

It was only once that Luffy took something with him. He took Ace and Sabo, the only people he loved and wouldn't kill, besides master, who he rarely saw. Just heard over the speakers. Luffy didn't even know what he looked like. He'd never come face to face with him, for master's own safety.

Luffy was uncontrollable when he was mad, so it was best to not be anywhere near him at any time. Everyone was disposable besides master and his important friends.

Looking down at the poster, he wondered about the haircut of the man he was to find and take. It looked like a pineapple. They were drawn on a pair of his pyjamas. Those were his favorites. Luffy wandered around the island, which only had one village on it. He looked everywhere for the man, listening as best as he could for people. It was early in the morning, so maybe the man wasn't awake yet.

But, Luffy was told he didn't live in houses, but a ship. And that he should take him once he was away from the ship. Luffy didn't turn until it was time to do the climax of his mission. He walked around, looking. Finally, he asked someone about the man, showing her the poster. Luffy looked like a harmless kid, just with a strange tattoo on his face.

He noticed that most of the women he came across were nicer than the men, even though he didn't discriminate who he killed. He killed anyone that got in his way. That was how it worked. "Oh, he's at the beach right now, having a party."

Luffy nodded and turned around, walking to the beach, in the direction the woman pointed to. He didn't thank her, but she didn't seem to mind, and went back to her business. Luffy didn't kill her; she was helpful and hadn't been rude in any way. Plus, he wasn't supposed to blow his cover yet.

He may not have been told who this man was, but he was told to be careful. Luffy walked through the forest and headed to the beach. When he reached the sand and the foliage started to thin, he stayed in the shadows. There were many people here. Some were very large, some smaller.

Searching for the pineapple head, he found him easily, sitting on the shoulder of the largest of the group. Luffy waited patiently in the bushes, watching closely and hiding his presence. He didn't want to get caught. There were too many people for even him to kill quickly. He sat in the foliage, waiting for the man to maybe have to pee.

After two hours, Luffy still fully focused on the man, he jumped off the big guy's shoulder and walked to the trees to use the bathroom. When the target entered the forest, Luffy followed after him. But the man noticed him immediately. "Hey, kid, what are you doing out here?" Luffy didn't answer.

He looked creepy, and the man furrowed his brows, noticing something off about the kid. He didn't look so unassuming anymore. He suddenly changed shape and size, turning into a gruesome monster, four legs that looked almost liquidly, gooey and sticking to the forest floor and the trees. His form shimmered, no eyes visible and no real shape to his body other than four legs. It was disturbing.

The man clearly knew he was in danger and tried to get back to the beach, shouting loudly when the disgusting monster shot forward and stuck it's substance over his mouth, silencing him, before he covered him completely in the thick and sticky goo. He consumed him entirely, not seen anymore. Luffy heard people running towards where the scream had come from, and ran away quickly.

Feet trampled into the forest, but their friend was gone without a trace. Luffy ran back to the ship, the man inside his body unconscious. He had a small hole reaching to the man's mouth so he could breathe and not suffocate. The ship left quickly, heading back to the base.

The Whitebeard crew searched everywhere for their first mate, but could not find him, and began to panic. He was completely gone. No one could feel him with their haki.

-x-

When Marco woke up, he was chained to the wall with sea stone cuffs, disoriented. Luckily, that monster wasn't there. He had never been so terrified. Whatever that thing was, it was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen, and he'd seen a lot on his journey. It looked like a child at first, but that was far from what he was.

Oh, his family must be so worried about him. He had been abducted so easily. It was embarrassing, but the monster had been too fast and strong to fight back against it, despite being the strongest besides Whitebeard on the most powerful pirate crew. He shook the chains, but he was completely caught. There was no getting out of here by himself.

The guard nearby heard his chains rattle and came into view of the cell Marco was in. He didn't have any of the gross substance on him, which he was glad of. It had been slimy and sticky at the same time, and Marco had been unable to get it off. It was almost like some sort of glue until he was covered in it completely, helpless and powerless.

The guard smirked at him. "Looks like Luffy's really outdone himself." Marco scowled. But he was surprised that monster even had a name. "I'd hate to have been in your place." The guard was clearly quite cocky, even though it had not been him that captured Marco.

But, he wanted to know what the thing had been. So he asked. And the guard was more than willing to brag about their resident monster. "What was that monster?"

"He's a monster all right, though he wasn't originally. He ate a devil fruit that turned him into that." Marco was surprised to hear that it _had _been a human. But what the hell kind of fruit would turn anyone into _that? _Marco had never heard of a fruit that would do something like that to the user.

"What kind of fruit?" Marco asked slowly. Maybe he didn't want to hear, but he had to know. Maybe it would help him in the long run in case he ever came across it again once his family came to get him.

"A zoan. Demon type," the guard bragged, clearly satisfied with Marco's shocked expression. He'd _never _heard of a demon devil fruit. It sounded horrible, and despite what he'd done, Marco felt bad for the boy. "It was artificially created, so you've never heard of it."

"Artificially?" Marco asked in disbelief. You couldn't create devil fruits. At least as far as he knew. And he hoped that this kid was the only one with a fruit that disturbing and powerful. He hoped his family was okay and he was the only one who ran into the demon zoan.

"Yeah. Master can create artificial fruits. And this one was an accident. Luffy was unlucky enough to be fed it. Now he's our killing machine. He has no personality except when he's with his useless brothers. We only let them stay or he'd throw a fit and kill everyone here." The guard sure was talkative, clearly thinking Marco would never escape. This was all important information.

"Normal brothers?" He nodded. Marco suddenly felt bad for those kids, trapped with this Luffy. That terrifying creature... were they prisoners here? "Why are they here? Were they forced here to be his toy?"

The guard scoffed. Marco frowned at the reaction, not understanding it. "No, Luffy thinks he loves them. He doesn't know what love it, but everyone humors him." Marco suddenly felt pity for Luffy. It sounded like a tragic story. He was young, meaning he'd been forced to eat this fruit that turned him into some monster that these people were exploiting.

"Why did you capture me?" Marco asked, changing the subject to something less depressing. He didn't want to hear anymore. He was glad that Luffy had brothers, somebody to love him and care about him. But Marco wanted to get them out of there. What kind of life was being trapped in some facility?

"You don't need to know," the guard said, suddenly not so talkative. Marco scowled at him. This guy was irritating, and Marco wished he'd get out of his sight. He hated how this man talked about those boys. How they used him. Surely, he hadn't always been like this. Or, maybe he was. Maybe he'd been fed the fruit at such a young age that he didn't know any different. It was sad to think about.

Marco leaned against the wall, irritated with the situation and how easy it was for Luffy to get him. He would never live it down, even if he did have a fruit that would scare anyone. Well, maybe not Pops. Hell, he might be able to fight demon Luffy. But, it was a problem if its entire body was made up of that gooey stuff that was so sticky. It could fight back against Pops, if it was stupid enough to try.

He then felt bad for thinking "it" when it should be a "he". Poor kid. At least he had brothers, if that was how the relationship was. The guard said he loved them, but maybe his view of love was skewed. Maybe the boys were prisoners to him. Marco would try and help them if Luffy was holding them hostage, and maybe even try to help the boy. Maybe.

-x-

Luffy played house with his brothers, something they found a bit sad. The boy always seemed so happy when he was playing like he lived in the outside world. Ace and Sabo had taught him how to play house, since he had never been in one. He liked playing the cook the most. His brothers hoped Luffy would be able to live like this for real some day. Free and happy.

Yes, they knew Luffy killed indiscriminately, but they were the only two to really see that that wasn't all he was. He was sweet, kind, caring. At least with those he loved. When he first sort of abducted them, they had been afriad of him, even if they'd never seen his other form. He was kind of creepy with the dark eyes and tattoo.

But, after awhile, they saw that Luffy wanted someone to be with him. He just chose those two but never specified _why _them. Ace hadn't been happy and had lashed out at Luffy multiple times due to hating this place, even though he knew Luffy had killed. It was when it made him cry that Sabo stepped in and tried to comfort him. He had been scared of him too, a bit, but saw that he was just a little kid. It took Ace a bit longer, but the outcome was the same with him.

They both eventually claimed him as their little brother. And plus, there was no way to get out. It didn't take long for them to lose the fear of him after he'd never hurt them, even when Ace had been mean to him. Luffy cared about them from day one, trying to make them happy and share his toys even when they rejected him and insisted to be let out.

"But, why?" was Luffy's question every time they said they wanted to leave. Then they realized that he knew no different. This was his life and he accepted it because he didn't know anything different. "Aren't you happy with me?" he asked in a small voice. After that, Ace and Sabo both pitied him, which grew into wanting to help him which grew into wanting to be with him.

If Luffy didn't get to be free, they wouldn't either. Not after growing so fond of him. To be honest, neither of them ever wanted to see Luffy's other form. They never wanted to ever feel afraid of him again.

"Ace, pie is ready," Luffy said from the toy kitchen. Ace came over from pretending to wash the dishes and Sabo pretending to read a newspaper at the tea party table. It was really just a coloring book. The two played with Luffy, enjoying it because it made Luffy happy, and they did anything to see that smile. The Luffy no one but them could see. Well, them and whoever watched them from the cameras set around the room.

They each completely ignored Luffy's other side of life, which they each were fine to do. There was no need to ruin the image they had of their little brother. Their loving, playful brother that they put up with this life for. They would never leave him alone again.

Luffy had a break from his missions for awhile, though they didn't tell him why. He didn't mind, and looked forwards to spending more time with his loved ones. He was given more coloring books and new pyjamas for a reward of his successful mission.


	2. Finding Marco and His Charges

**Jasmine: Slow down, Jasmine, there's over 30 chapters for all that good stuff to possibly happen!**

**blueflamegoddess: There is a lot more "cute and sad and awe". A LOT MORE.**

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**I'm so excited about this story. I hope people like it! Things move quickly in this chapter. Enjoy~**

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"God damnit!" Thatch raged when they had searched the entire island and found no Marco. Even with the entire crew searching, Marco was gone. Without a trace was some weird marks in the forest. They didn't look like any sort of footprints, so they weren't helpful one bit. "Who the hell could have taken him?!"

"I don't know, Thatch," Izo said in a bland voice, trying to hide his concern and immense worry over the safety and freedom of his brother. "We'll find him. We'll have everyone search, call our allied crews. I don't see any marines being able to take him so quickly. He left for a minute, shouted, and then was gone."

Pops was pacing, something he never did. Even when other crew members were in a bind, he usually stayed calm. But not for Marco. Even though he claimed he had no favorites, Marco was clearly his favorite. It made sense, since he was Whitebeard's first crew member. He was invited when he was only sixteen, and had been on the crew for a good thirty years, faithful and caring to all of his brothers.

Only the commanders knew how Marco had met Pops, and it was a sad story that no one liked to think about. So, they all knew Pops was freaking out, though it didn't show on his face, just his tense body language and pacing.

"It was probably a devil fruit user," Whitebeard said, finally. He had barely spoken since they hadn't found any trace of Marco. "Maybe one like that CP9 member, the one with the door-door. Which could be bad, but we'll find him, no matter what. We'll tear the world apart to find him. Don't worry, my sons. And whoever has taken him will pay with their lives. Call everyone now. We need to get searching as soon as possible."

"Aye!"

-x-

One week later, Marco was hungry and bored. So bored, with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. Even arguing with the stupid guard would be better than the boring silence that stretched on for forever. He didn't really have any hope that he'd be found anytime soon. He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in Luffy or however he was brought to this place. It could have been hours, or days or even weeks. He had no way to tell time since there were no windows in here. So, he assumed it was underground.

Nobody had still told him why he was there, what the end goal was. Marco assumed he was being used as leverage, since he was sure his captors were not marines. Even marines wouldn't steep so low as this, he thought. And they would never feed a devil fruit like this to a child, who clearly wouldn't have total control over his emotions.

Before the guard had been told to shut the hell up, the man had told Marco stories about Luffy and his actions, trying to scare Marco, but only making him sadder. And more worried about possibly saving him, and unleashing him on the world if he really did have a temper like the guard said.

One of the stories he told was of someone calling his brother a brat at first, and Luffy tore him to pieces after shifting into demon form. Marco could imagine that beast form tearing into someone, and was grateful it hadn't happened to him, though he would be able to heal if he wasn't in sea stone cuffs.

Marco had been told at another time that Luffy was immune to sea stone. It made Marco surprised, but then not so much since it wasn't a normal devil fruit. If it technically even counted as one if it was manmade. The guard has said only holy water hurt him. It was kind of ridiculous to think about. _Holy water. _He'd never thought that was real, it was just clean water.

The stories were made to scare him, but they didn't do much other than irritate him. He was just a little kid. Even if he had that other side, Marco didn't like the way the guard was talking about the boy. The boy they kept in a single room and _pretended _that he lived in a nice place. His room was full of toys and coloring books. Stuffed to the brim with things a kid would like. To bribe him into working for them.

Marco had no doubt Luffy could massacre everyone, but there was the problem that they knew his weakness and no doubt had it on hand, ready in case Luffy went out of control against his boss/master. The man still had no clue of who it could be. Who would pick a fight with Whitebeard. Everyone knew how precious his sons were to him, and to take one of his most important ones was just foolish.

The prisoner was given the barest amount of food and water, but that was it. Luckily, he wasn't harmed while useless and helpless. They wanted him in good shape for some reason, probably to not piss off Whitebeard even _more,_ if these people even had any common sense.

On ninth day of him being trapped there, Marco was surprised to see Luffy brought in, standing outside the cell. He looked at Marco with a blank stare. Then he looked up at the man standing next to him, who Marco didn't recognize. "What?" Luffy asked. If he didn't have those dark eyes and creepy tattoo, he'd be a really cute kid.

"This man wants to hurt your brothers. If he gets let out, you have to suck him in again, but not kill him." Luffy turned to glare at Marco.

"I would never hurt your brothers," Marco said in a serious voice. "I have many brothers myself, I know what it would feel like to have your own hurt or killed. These people are just using you. They don't want you or your brothers to be safe or happy."

Luffy didn't look convinced. "They give me toys and feed us." That was his argument, but he was a young child after all. And he was brainwashed to be here. He had to be, since Marco could see him getting out if he truly wanted to. But, he would also have to keep his brothers safe.

"That's called 'bribing'." Before Marco could explain anything else, Luffy was ushered outside, and he could hear the man telling Luffy that Marco was a bad man who lies. Now, Marco wanted to get Luffy and his brothers out even more. He felt sick with how they treated Luffy. Like he was property, or a pet they could sic on whoever they pleased.

The day after that, a man with a mask came it. It was clearly a mask to hide his identity, and he was wearing a suit. Marco had a feeling he was the boss/master. He gave off strong presence, though not nearly as frightening as Luffy's demon form had. He wasn't the same man who had brought Luffy in previously.

"I assume you're here to tell me why I've been abducted?" Marco asked in a bored voice, so done with this place and wishing to be free. He missed his family deeply, and hated being alone. He did his best not to react to the cuffs and how dirty he was. It reminded him of before Pops found and saved him. Back when he was property much like Luffy, only much more disposable.

"We want Whitebeard's head." Marco was not surprised by this, and scoffed. It was more for show, since Marco was actually full of rage.

"Whitebeard would never trade his life for _one _son, and leave all of the rest without a father. You overestimate my importance. Just because I'm the first mate doesn't mean I'm more important than the entire crew."

The masked man pulled out a photo. It was of a destroyed island, a castle of ruins, land misshaped. "If you weren't so important, why would he destroy and entire chain of islands to get you back?"

"He's an emperor, do you really think he wouldn't care to ravage a few islands?" Marco challenged.

"But this was before he was an emperor. This was when you had twenty crew members. He put all of them in danger to save _you._" Marco wasn't happy with this man knowing the past like this. It was an old event that had died off long ago. It was no longer important in any way. It reminded Marco that this was the second time he'd been captured, though he was only twenty at that time.

"Think what you want. Pops won't trade his life for one son. He won't put the rest of his family through that," Marco argued, though it was a farce. He knew Pops would come, but he also knew that he would save Marco. And he did want out. He missed his family and was humiliated by this. But he also knew that there were three children hanging in the balance, one of them would surely be killed if he attacked Pops and the man didn't know his story or that he was a kid at all.

Even if the captain did appear, Marco didn't know the layout of this place, he didn't know where the room housing the kids was, and he knew that Whitebeard would destroy this place. Even if Luffy lived, his brothers would be crushed. He wanted to communicate to his father to not decimate the island and risk killing the children. Marco so wanted them out of here. To be free.

"Well, you'll call him anyway," the master said, not missing a beat or becoming angered by Marco's rebuttal and reaction.

"I doubt you can make me," the phoenix zoan challenged.

"Oh, I can." He then ushered in who Marco assumed was one of the children who was Luffy's brother. He didn't look harmed, but scared and nervous. Marco's face hardened. A gun was pointed to the kid's head, and his eyes grew wide and terrified above a face full of freckles. "If you don't call him, I will kill this child and leave his body in here so you can see what your actions have done."

"Fucker…" Marco growled. Surprising Marco, the kid spoke.

"I-If you kill me, Luffy will go on a rampage and kill everyone. You'll lose your pawn." Despite his terror, the boy had a strong and determined voice. Master finally showed some impatience and shoved Ace till he hit the bars. Ace didn't show any pain, even as his arm his the bar pretty hard.

Ace was then shoved out of the room, hearing master shout, "If you tell Luffy what happened, I will kill you and Sabo. Luffy has lived without you before, he can do it again." The door slammed shut, with Ace now out of the room and the master with a transponder snail. He entered the room and unlocked one of Marco's cuffs. The sea stone still affected him, and he was weak with hunger.

"Call him, now. I see that you care about the wellbeing of those kids. So, i'll make you a proposal. Either you call Whitebeard, or I kill Ace and Sabo and pin the blame on _you._" Marco scowled at him, wishing nothing more than to tear him apart with his phoenix talons, but he did as the man said, and dialed Whitebeard's personal transponder. He wouldn't let his stubbornness get two innocent kids killed, and permanently hurt Luffy. He wasn't innocent, but it wasn't his fault he was brought up like this.

-x-

When Whitebeard got a call on his transponder snail in his bedroom at just the break of dawn, he hurried to answer. He hoped it was a ransom call and he could learn his son was still alive. Maybe not kicking, but alive. It had been over a week and the stress of no luck had taken its toll on everyone. He answered the snail. "Who is it?" he asked in his gruff voice, refusing to show weakness in case it was an enemy. It was his public transponder snail that was connected to the snails' of the other three emperors, and surprisingly, the marines. They didn't know he had their number, but a certain man had passed on Garp the Fist's number to him before his execution, just in case.

"_It's me. I'm alive, and another idiot wants to take your head," _Marco said. He sounded angry, but Whitebeard didn't focus on that, just basking in the fact that his son was alive. He was alive!

"It's good to hear you again, son."

There was muttering on the other end, but the captain couldn't hear it well. "_They want to trade me for you, but you'd be leaving the rest of the crew alone. Don't come." _The captain could hear the lie in Marco's voice. He wanted free, badly. There was a blunt sound and Marco grunted. Whitebeard assumed he'd been struck, and it angered him greatly but he didn't show it in his voice.

"I will save you. Do you honestly think some idiot who's foolish enough to abduct my son will take my head?"

"_Honestly, not really. But there is someone here that I think could do you harm. The one who was able to abduct me. He's-," _and there was another sound of Marco being struck. He spit out something and Whitebeard assumed it was blood. Marco wasn't petty enough to spit on an enemy. "_\- A kid, Pops. You can't destroy this place until the kids are -!" _he shouted in a fast voice, needing to get this information out.

"_That's enough out of you," _a deep voice said. "_Whitebeard, if you don't come willingly in the next two weeks, we will kill your 'son'." _He said the word with a disgusted sneer. He then told the captain where the base was located. Whitebeard scowled. He'd take his son back and save those kids Marco clearly cared about. Even the one that had managed to catch him without a trace. He wondered what kind of fruit the kid had. That was the only explanation.

"You will regret this, but I will be there. Stay strong, son," and then the line hung up. He seethed, but he also had a few tears after knowing his beloved son was not safe, but alive. He did wonder about the children. But, he trusted Marco and if he wanted to save the kids, then they would save the kids.

And if the child challenged him, he would knock him out before any harm was done. But, if Marco was worried about Whitebeard's safety from a _child, _the kid must be incredibly strong or incredibly dangerous. Maybe both.

He quickly left the room to inform the rest of the crew that Marco was alive and they were going to go save him. And the kids he wished to free.

-x-

When Ace went back to the room, Luffy had been sleeping. Sabo was awake and incredibly worried. He ran to Ace, and asked him in a hush if he was okay. Ace was shaking, though neither acknowledged it.

"I'm okay. I was threatened, but using Luffy's name saved me. I think someone big will come here, and we might get caught in the middle of the fight," Ace explained in a whisper, as they didn't want Luffy to wake up and hear them. "We might be able to escape. But I don't want Luffy to fight."

"You know he will if he thinks we're in danger," Sabo replied. They both glanced over to the sleeping boy curled into a ball under the blankets of the big bed. Ace sighed, knowing Sabo was right. "We'll play it by ear." Ace nodded in reply, and they both went to bed, though Ace was still freaked out, and didn't fall asleep until Luffy rolled over and flung his hand on to Ace's chest. He gently took the hand, vowing to keep Luffy and Sabo safe as best as he could. He loved his brothers, and would do anything for them. He did look forward to the prospect of going outside in over two years, but not without Luffy and Sabo.

Luffy still didn't go on any missions while the base was preparing for Whitebeard's arrival. Both Ace and Sabo had never heard of him, and only Ace had met Marco. He must know that Luffy was the one who took him, but was concerned over Ace's safety. Was he concerned over Luffy's safety too? He'd better be because Ace wasn't leaving without his little brother. But honestly, he didn't know how Luffy would deal with being free.

He was raised to kill when told to, and was restricted to the extreme to how he lived. He was used to it and seemed to even _like _it. Though Ace and Sabo had a feeling it was because it was all he knew and he got toys and to be with his brothers.

It was a week and a half of waiting when the alarm siren started going off, and there were shaking sounds. A little bit of dust fell from the sky-painted ceiling. Luffy was coloring in a cat coloring book, and looked up in surprise. Ace and Sabo acted immediately, putting important things together in a sack for if they got out. Luffy was scared and confused by the loud noise and shaking.

He huddled between his brothers, holding their hands, and asked what was happening. "I don't know, Lu, but we have to stay calm, okay? No matter what happens," Sabo said, doing his best to stay calm. "Don't turn into your zoan, okay?"

Luffy didn't like this. "I have to protect you!" he argued. Sabo got on his knees and gripped Luffy's shoulders, keeping eye contact.

"If you change, then you might be seen as a threat, and we won't be helped. If the ceiling collapses or we're trapped, you can change and get us out. But don't take part in the fight, okay? We can't look bad. You already abducted his crewmember, we don't want a pirate captain to be even angrier with us." He meant _you, _but Luffy had just done what he'd been told to do, like always. And he hadn't harmed Marco. At least, not visibly as Ace had seen. Luffy hadn't gone into details about it, so they didn't know much about what happened.

You could say Luffy kept his "work life" separate from his "personal life".

-x-

Whitebeard stood in front of the building his son was being kept in, his entire crew behind him. He didn't intend to switch places, he intended to get his son back where he belonged. He slammed his bisento on the ground to make sure everyone knew he was there and ready to get his son back from these damn fools. Who would challenge the emperor like this and think they would continue to live afterwards?

The shockwave was small but rattled the island. It didn't take long for Marco to come out, shackled and looking dirty and tired. The man next to him was the boss, and two guards stood on either side of Marco. He grinned at his father and family, everyone silent and serious behind the captain.

Even though this was the New World, they didn't seem to use haki. Whitebeard had no idea how they had stayed in place for any length of time without the use of haki. They might have been using the kid Marco mentioned to do all their dirty work for them.

Everyone saw two giant sea stone handcuffs in a cart behind the four men, clearly meant for Whitebeard to put on. Nobody waited for any dialogue, rushing forward to attack the enemies, knowing there were many people inside and ready to fight for revenge for taking their brother, and to save the kids. Only the commanders knew that one of the children was the one to take their family member.

The captain did as he promised and did not unleash his entire strength onto the island. Not until the kids were safe from the building collapsing on them. The man Whitebeard had spoken to, the leader, had a devil fruit, but it was underwhelming in his use of it. He seemed to be able to tell anyone what to do, as long as they weren't more powerful than he was. He tried to have Whitebeard's own men attack him, but only some responded. The commanders, who would still not be a match for their captain, were unaffected, and Izo shot him in the leg before leaving the rest for Pops to do.

He destroyed the man in a gruesome way by stabbing and then releasing an earthquake inside. It was brutal, but this person took his son and they would _pay. _He was a bit disappointed the fight lasted so little. The men who had been brainwashed turned back to normal, though they were sluggish and tired.

The guards were no match for the commanders, and soon people were running inside the building, going to kill everyone else, the commanders looking for the kids. Jozu ran up to Marco and got to the chase in breaking the sea stone cuffs. By changing into diamond and then covering his hand in haki, he easily broke the cuffs and power flooded through Marco again.

He turned around, and despite how tired and hungry he was, went to search for the children. He couldn't find them with his haki, meaning they were hindered by sea stone walls and maybe underground. So, he and those accompanying him, all elated to see him again, looked for a room that had a map. Most rooms were storage or bedrooms for those who were now dead, but on the top floor, they came across the communications room. Killing those inside took only a second and soon the four commanders, Haruta, Jozu, Izo and Marco searched the many screens connected to cameras in various places in the facility.

Marco pointed to one that looked like a children's room, with toys and painted walls, and saw Ace, Luffy and the other, blonde one huddling in a one corner. Izo watched as they crawled into a big chest to hide.

The first mate truly hoped Luffy wouldn't turn on anyone, so he insisted that he was the only one to go, since he was familiar with Luffy's other form. He would be less shellshocked than his brothers if Luffy changed. He would still probably be disgusted and a bit frightened, but no longer shocked and vulnerable.

They found the room was made out of sea stone, not allowing Luffy to break out, but there was a button behind a door that slid open the large door of the room. Marco told his brothers to get away, and they went behind a corner, close enough to hear but not see.

"Ace, Luffy, Sabo?" Marco said softly, turning on the light switch that the boys had turned off after the commanders knew they were in there. None of the three came out of the chest. "It's Marco, from the cell. We're here to set you free." He said it loud enough so they could hear across the room and inside the toy chest.

The lid of it popped open, and three sets of eyes peered through the crack. Ace and Sabo's were bright, while Luffy's were dull. He looked angry, but did not give off any threatening feeling. It might be how he handles fear, Marco didn't know.

"No one will hurt you," Marco said. "I promise."

Ace lifted the lid all the way, and stood. Luffy stayed sitting while Sabo stood next. "Even though Luffy captured you?" Ace asked challengingly. Marco sat down in a show of peace, making himself vulnerable in case Luffy attacked. But, he would regenerate anyway even if the boy did land a hit in his demon form.

"Luffy has been ordered to do atrocious things, and has had a cruel upbringing. I don't blame him for following his orders. But now, you don't have to anymore. If you come with me, I'll get you someplace safe," Marco replied. He sounded sincere, but Luffy didn't want to go. He was used to this place, his room.

Sabo crouched down next to him, still trying to hide in the chest. "We have to leave, Lu. Even if we don't go with these people, we can't live here anymore. Everyone is gone and the building is broken. We have to go someplace else." Luffy shook his head, and Sabo sighed, finally picking the smaller child up and lifting him out of the chest.

"No!" Luffy shouted, squirming and trying to get back in the chest.

"Would you feel safer if you were in your other form?" Marco asked. The three brothers were surprised to hear he would be okay with Luffy's other body. He was much stronger and more volatile in that form. Though Ace and Sabo had never seen it, and didn't want to, if it was the only way, then they would be okay with it.

Luffy, surprisingly, looked nervously to his brothers. "It's okay. No matter what you look like, you're still Luffy." Luffy nodded, and his form warped and changed into that terrifying sticky monster. But, he was much smaller than he was when Marco first came across him. The man saw the fearful and almost disgusted look on their faces before they hid it.

Neither of them could comfort Luffy physically, since Sabo's hand stuck to him when he tried to put it on Luffy's head. Well, where he thought his head was. "C'mon, Lu. Let's go," Ace said kindly. Luffy walked forward slowly, between his brothers. The substance he was made of stuck to the ground with every step he took, snapping back with a slick sound after he lifted one leg to move forward.

Marco slowly stood up, wearing a kind smile, not making eye contact with Luffy since he didn't know where his eyes _were. _It was like Luffy didn't emit any light. He truly looked like some sort of demon.

The pirate turned around, making himself seem vulnerable if Luffy struck, and walked towards where he knew his brothers were waiting. He walked to the corner, and gave his three brothers pointed warning looks. They all seemed a bit nervous from the look. Their eyes widened when Luffy turned the corner with his brothers.

The moment Luffy saw the three other people, his size doubled, standing taller than his brothers now. Marco started to sweat, and Izo had trouble not pulling his gun out. Marco walked forwards, turning his brothers around and pushing them forward. "Let's get out of here," he said to all of them.


	3. First Time on a Pirate Ship

**blueflamegoddess: You'll just have to read to find out ;) Luffy is so innocent while also having tons of blood on his hands/sticky grabby things. There's a lot of talk about that much later on. **

Luffy didn't like the looks his brothers had on. The looked grossed out by him, even when he was small. He knew Ace and Sabo loved him, but they never saw this form. He was suddenly uneasy. What if, now that they're free, both of them want to leave him? Maybe they only were with him because they were forced to be.

He did his best to focus on Marco in front of them. When they turned the corner and saw other adults, Luffy grew bigger on instinct. Sabo touched Luffy again, his hand sinking into Luffy's slimy body, but he kept it there in a way of comfort. Ace followed suit, and Luffy felt warm inside. The simple gesture meant a lot to him. They touched his other form. He didn't know any difference, had always remembered being like this, and only ever saw problems with it when he wasn't using it for his missions.

It was normal to him, but he had never had a reason to change around his brothers, and didn't like starting now. His shape bubbled almost and couldn't help but having the substance crawl up his brother's arms, his way of holding their hands back.

Neither yanked their hands away. Luffy would have smiled if he had a mouth. He could see and smell, but the danger didn't come from him biting, since there was no mouth. His power was cutting, hardening every single fiber of his body to slash people and things to pieces, or consuming and then crushing them. When he attacked anyone, the blood sunk into him, feeling sticky and warm.

He didn't use it, trusting his brothers' words. Not these men, but his brothers would never lie to him. When they reached outside, passing many horrified pirates, Ace and Sabo smiled and breathed out deep breaths. Finally, they were outside! They hadn't seen the sun in years! Both wanted to spread their arms and feel the sunlight on them, but they kept their hands connected to Luffy.

When they came around the bend, and saw the massive man, Luffy immediately grew to the height of Whitebeard. He towered high over everyone but the pirate captain, who gave the shape a blank look. Luffy bristled at his look, though it was nothing disrespectful.

"You won't fit on our ship very comfortably if you are that size," Whitebeard said, dawning a cheeky grin. Everyone was shocked by the retort considering the size change was clearly a threat. "I don't know your history, brats, but everyone is a child of the sea. No one deserves to be forced to do anything they don't want to."

Luffy couldn't show his emotions, and though he felt this man was a threat, he shrunk and shrunk until he was in the hybrid form. Not quite comfortable enough to be in full human form, but also not feeling he would need all his strength at the moment. In his hybrid form, he was in the shape of a human, only covered in the black substance. He still had no face, but was less threatening. His hands were human shaped, though they were still sticky. Ace and Sabo took his hands.

"C'mon, let's get out of this dump," Thatch called from the ship. Ace and Sabo didn't hesitate, but Luffy did. His brothers' hands were still stuck to his, but when he stopped, the substance stretched the distance between him and the other two.

The rest of the crew hurried onto the ship, making sure not to look at Luffy too long. Marco came up behind him. "This place has trapped you. Don't you want to be free?" Luffy didn't know the feeling, but Ace and Sabo always talked about it. Luffy slowly started walking forwards again, though unsure.

He turned around once to look back at his previous home, broken in many places. He'd never return there. He looked to see his brothers were watching the place, too, only they looked triumphant. Suddenly, Luffy felt guilty. Guilty for bringing them there in the first place when they clearly didn't like it.

The demon child swallowed thickly, and let go of his brothers' hands. They seemed to have realized what had happened, and made sure to tell Luffy they didn't regret meeting him, even if they didn't like the place they were at much.

Everyone stared at Luffy for awhile before the black substance was absorbed back into his skin, and the human boy was revealed. He was barefoot and in his pineapple pyjamas. Many looked at him uneasily, but the commanders just looked at him in interest, wondering what kind of fruit that was. It was creepy, but many fruits were. Like the one where you become a jacket that someone else wears. Or the one where you can literally eat people or anything else.

"Would you like to put your things away in the guest room?" Thatch asked in a show of kindness and bravery. The crew was surprised by _Thatch - _who was terrified of spiders - would willingly get near Luffy, that had just been a sticky, disgusting monster. "It's all ready for the kids Marco wanted us to save."

"Thank you, sir," Sabo said, holding Luffy's now human hand, while Ace bowed in thanks as well.

"Aw, you don't have to call me sir. I'm Thatch, the head chef and fourth division commander. Don't mind everyone else, I think that mark is actually pretty cool. And I've never seen a power like yours before." He tried to make small talk with the nervous children, and Luffy was truly unsure about this.

The leaders other than Master, who he'd never met, always glared at him. He was used to it, and didn't think much of it until now. Thatch was acting much different than those at his old home. Luffy didn't know why. But, he liked it and Ace and Sabo were smiling, so it must be good. The youngest didn't reply, just stared at Thatch. He grew a bit sweaty under the stare, but it went unnoticed by Luffy.

"Luffy ate a special zoan devil fruit," Ace explained. Thatch walked them to the room they'd be occupying.

"Hey, Marco ate a special one, too. A mythical zoan fruit, which makes him a phoenix. He can fly and catch on fire and heal any wound he gets. It's pretty cool in my opinion. I wish I could fly," Thatch rambled.

Suddenly, there was a gross squelching sound before black goo exploded out of Luffy's shoulder blades. Thatch stared before grimacing a bit. "Well, close, but not exactly like that. But, hey, it's pretty cool you can manipulate that black stuff."

"I make it sharp to kill people fast," Luffy replied cluelessly. Sabo put his face in his hand while Ace laughed. Thatch wasn't exactly laughing.

"Okay…" he said in a high voice. Sabo turned to Luffy and told him not to say stuff like that to other people. His reply was simple. "I know it's the truth, but it scares some people." Thatch scowled and turned around.

"Im _not _scared," he insisted. Ace started cackling in laughter. Thatch glared at him, clearly embarrassed. Luffy looked to Ace, seeing his smile and laughter. He rarely laughed like that, but it spread to Luffy. He didn't show it, but Ace's laughter was nice. Sabo just sighed, but had a light smile, too.

"I'm sorry," Luffy mumbled, the black substance on his back seeping into his skin once again. Ace stopped laughing, and then looked guilty himself. He had a feeling he knew what Luffy was sorry for.

"Thatch, can you give us some space?" Sabo asked. Thatch nodded and walked away a bit. They were still far from the boys' guest room.

Ace and Sabo turned to Luffy, Sabo crouching and Ace putting his hand on the little boy's shoulder. "We love you Luffy. We don't blame you for taking us. We didn't like being trapped, but we love and enjoy your company. We love you and always will. But, let's move on from the past, okay? We're free now; all of us. Let's make a new, happier life. With no more killing or being trapped." Luffy didn't understand what was so bad about killing. So he asked.

"Well, most people haven't had your background. Killing… well, it's not good most of the time. I guess it depends on who it is, but overall, why don't you take a break from it?" Ace offered, unsure how to word it without making it so Luffy is seen as the bad guy.

"... But, what else am I here for?" Luffy asked in such a confused voice. It broke Ace and Sabo's hearts.

"You are here to _live. _Live a long, happy life. With us. We're family. We want the best for you, and the best for you is to have fun, live life to the fullest. You don't have to follow any more orders. You don't need to use your powers for killing. You're free now, Luffy. We all are, and we're going to make sure we take full advantage of that," Ace said in a determined voice. "There are so many things you've missed out on. Seeing new places, meeting new people, doing new things. Your purpose isn't to fulfill someone else's wishes. Not anymore." Sabo nodded in agreement.

"I don't know how to do anything else," the youngest said uncertainly. He wasn't used to these feelings, and he didn't like them.

"Then you will learn. We all will," Sabo replied.

-x-

Marco was able to hear everything the three had said, and it made him immensely sad. He sighed, and wondered if Luffy would ever be able to move on from his past. He didn't know how Luffy met ihs brothers, but had a feeling it had not been mutual at first. Now, they were as close as can be, but he had a feeling it didn't start out like that.

Whitebeard walked up behind him, some of the commanders following. Marco moved along, too, as they headed to a meeting. Probably about what to do with the boys. And after hearing the short conversation just now, Marco wanted to help Luffy be… well, normal. He'd never be fully normal thanks to his abnormal fruit, but he could learn to live like a little boy should. Free and fun.

The first division commander wasn't sure about how the rest of the crew would feel, and he would support them over the three brothers if it came to that, but he did wish to help them. It was one thing to set them free, but when they didn't know _how _to be free, wasn't that just cruel? To leave them in an unknown world. At least, unknown to Luffy.

Thatch had walked back to the three, and made eye contact with Pops, who nodded, leaving the boys in Thatch's care for the moment. To lead them to the new room. Marco knew it wasn't nearly as fun as their old "room". Which was just a colorful jail cell.

At the meeting, it was extremely quiet while everyone looked to Marco, wanting an explanation. They didn't know what had happened to him, how he got caught, and what the situation was with Luffy and the other two. No one asked, but when Pops cleared his voice, Marco began to explain everything.

How he got caught like a chump, how he was treated at the facility, which made everyone livid that he had been chained and starved. Then, he told them everything he'd been told about Luffy and subsequently, the other two as well. Everyone was shocked about Luffy's artificial devil fruit. Never had they heard of something like that, but also had never heard of a "demon zoan" fruit. Though it was clearly a zoan. It changed his whole body, had two forms along with his human form.

"I think he had been there his whole life," Marco said at the end. "I would like to help them adjust to the outside world. Maybe teach Luffy there is another way to live besides killing."

Haruta was frowning, and said, "But isn't that dangerous for us? He could get angry and lash out. After all, that guard guy said he kills just from people annoying him." Marco and a few others looked at him in an unhappy way.

"You realize that's how Blenheim was, don't you? You were here when he was recruited, so you should remember that well," Marco said, a bit coldly. Haruta pouted, but leaned back in his chair. Next to speak was Namur.

"Blenheim was an exception. And he didn't enjoy killing other humans," the fishman said. "Luffy has been raised like this. It'll be a hard habit to break." Izo chose to try and lighten the situation.

"Well, it can't be a habit harder to break than trying to get Pops to stop drinking himself unconscious," the man said, fiddling with his expensive fan. A few chuckled while others looked at him in an unimpressed way. "Oh come on, you know how many people we've killed?"

Rayuko responded with, "We don't do it for fun."

"Oh? Then why do we enjoy when marines attack our ship?" Marco challenged hotly, losing his usually calm demeanor. A lot had happened in the last couple weeks, he'd learned a lot. About how evil some in the world could be. He really shouldn't have been surprised one bit, as people could be evil, but this situation was a new level of evil. And now that these children were free, some wanted them to go off alone, unsure about the world.

Marco wanted to instill affection and good values into Luffy. He could be a blank canvas now. Marco could paint good things, try to change his views. And if everyone pitched in, it would be even easier. "I think that Luffy can heal as long as he has his brothers, but they will all need support. It isn't like they can live by themselves, get all their own food, somehow rent or buy some place to live at their age. You know how 'creepy' Luffy looks? Do you think he'd end up loving people when they'd call him creepy and reject him? How would that do? Hm? You think it would make him a better person, just dumping him in the next convenient place for _us_? We are the _Whitebeard pirates! _We do what we want, when we want. We don't just pass up challenges, we take them and overcome them easily! We can use that to help a _little boy _be a little boy, not some killing machine that _someone else_ made him into. Not some freak who was fed and artificial devil fruit." By the time he was done yelling, many looked ashamed for their actions, and the captain was looking at Marco with an almost fond and proud look.

"While I value everyone's opinions equally, I am the one who makes the final decision. I'd like us to take a vote first. Those in favor in keeping the boys on the ship for now, raise your hand," Whitebeard said. Jozu, Vista, Marco, Izo, Curiel, Jiru, and Atmos all raised their hands. "Those who are against." The rest raised their hands. "Well, it's my decision and, personally, I've been moved by Marco's speech. We're keeping them on the ship. We'll deal with any problems as they may arise.

"Now, since our first mate has returned, why don't we forget about this mess for awhile and have a party tonight? Surely, we don't want to be angry with Marco when he just came home?" It made some feel guilty for arguing with Marco. "He's also a bit skinny, we'll need to fill him out again." Marco sighed, though knew he was skinny. And pale, being in that cell for weeks. "I'd also like him checked out by the nurses."

The mythical zoan groaned, hating going to the nurses. Which was rare, since he didn't get ill or injured. After everyone else left, Marco thanked Whitebeard. "You are quite passionate about this. Even though Luffy was the one to take you."

"He's just a kid, Pops. He deserves to have a nice childhood, or at least what's left of it."

"Just like you were, and did," the captain observed. "I know you are sympathizing with these boys. Who said pirates have cold hearts? I've missed you dearly, Marco." Marco smiled.

"I missed you, too. And everyone else. It was especially lonely there. I may get annoyed with how many people are here sometimes, but I love having people around me. I hope it's the same for the brothers. Any child deserves to decide their own future. Anyone deserves that."

Whitebeard laughed good naturedly. "I've instilled good morals in my sons," he bragged. Marco grinned a laughed, until Pops said, "Now go see the nurses."

-x-

Luffy stood in their little bedroom, not impressed with it. It was small, and the walls and floor were the same color, not painted at all. The beds were bunk beds, too small for all three to fit on. He sat down on the bed and frowned. It wasn't very comfortable. Ace and Sabo were unpacking the sacks they stocked with keep sakes.

Some coloring books, stuffed animals, clothes, Luffy's favorite blanket, and his favorite puzzle. Most of these things had been with him since he was a baby, or however old he was when he was taken in by psychopaths. So they were old and worn, but important to Luffy. Ace looked to the side to see the boy frowning at his surroundings.

"I know it's not especially cozy or colorful, but guess what we have here that we didn't have in our old room?" Ace asked. Luffy looked at him with a questioning look. The eldest stood up and walked to the door, opening it wide. "And this, too," he said, and walked to the porthole window. It was small, but it was a window. "When was the last time you got to wander around anywhere other than missions and our bedroom?"

"Never," Luffy replied, though he still wished the room was more colorful. The door stayed wide open, and people walked past, keeping their eyes straight ahead and not peeking inside. Sabo spread the toys out about the room so everywhere Luffy looked, there was something he was familiar with.

"Hey, Lu, you know what would be so cool?" Sabo asked. Luffy gave him a wondering expression. "Well, what Thatch said about your powers. What if you used to to create things, not just as a weapon?" Sabo and Ace did not like Luffy's demon form, but it was less frightening than they expected it would be. Well, or they got used to it in a matter of minutes. After all, they touched the unsettling texture almost immediately to help Luffy.

"That would be really cool," Ace said enthusiastically. "What if you could change into different shapes? Is there anything you can do with the power already, besides changing into that form? Maybe there are other powers that come along with it. After all, it's not a normal devil fruit."

Luffy looked at his hand, and the black substance was secreted by his pores, and covered his hand. His fingers elongated and turned into sharp blades. "Can you make it into other shapes?" Sabo asked helpfully. Luffy tried to, but nothing really happened. "Well, you'll learn with practice."

"And we'll help you," Ace added. He then pushed the bunkbeds together to make one big bed, working the contraption that secured them to the floor. The room was quite cozy, and the dark colored lamp was much nicer on the eyes than the lights on the ceiling of the old room. Ace and Sabo liked it here much more. No cameras or recording devices in the nooks and crannies.

Thatch wasn't gone long before he came back, arms full of food. Fresh food. Perfectly ripe fruit cut into little cute shapes, freshly baked bread, and some cookies. "You're all not starved, which is great! But, you do need to fill out a little more. So, here are some snacks for you," the chef said, setting the plates down on the bed, which he didn't comment on them moving them to different spots in the room. He also didn't say anything about the toys scattered about.

As the boys ate, Luffy and Ace scarfing down everything before Sabo really got a chance to eat anything, Thatch spoke. "Pops - Whitebeard, that is - wants you boys to go see the nurses for a physical. We gotta know if you have any health conditions we should know about while you're here."

Sabo and Ace were more than happy to obey, since they were free, and they weren't going to mess this up. No, they'd do everything they were asked. Luffy didn't understand why they had to see doctors when they weren't sick.

"A physical means they weigh us, see how tall we are, take our temperature. It won't be that bad, then maybe we could go thank Marco and the captain for letting us stay," Sabo explained patiently. Thatch looked pleased with Sabo's explanation. The plates were empty extremely quickly, and Thatch took them back to the kitchen.

They passed some people on their way to the infirmary, seeing a sign in the hallway pointing down another hallway to the infirmary. It made Ace wonder why they had this on their own ship. wouldn't they know their way around? Maybe it was for guests like them. Did pirates often have guests? Long ago, he remembered a dream with Sabo on their island. To be pirates. Now they had been rescued by pirates. It wasn't what they imagined, but they _are _on a pirate ship. They just had one more brother and a lot of major issues to work with.

The infirmary was very large and had many beds. There were a few beds that he patients in them. Some had been injured in the fight, though no one too severely. A few cuts, a stray bullet wound, but no one died.

"Hello, Luffy, Ace and Sabo," the nurse said. Luffy wondered why she was wearing a fluffy pink outfit. That wasn't how the doctors dressed at home. He tried not to think of it as home, because Ace said it wasn't home. But it was to _Luffy. _This place wasn't familiar. He didn't know anyone and some people glared at him a lot.

"My name is Whiskey, and this is Tami. Marco told us about your physical. He'll be coming in shortly to inspect Luffy's devil fruit powers. We'll start with height and weight," Whiskey said. The three boys, the two older ones in particular, didn't like that idea. They didn't want people poking and prodding Luffy. Though, Marco saved them out of his own kindness, so they couldn't be picky or disobey. Luffy looked to them to see what they thought of that. Both boys had brought the pleasant expression back, losing the worried one almost instantly, before Luffy noticed.

All three of them were on the lighter side, but not underweight. Luffy was too short for his age, according to Tami. Luffy was eight but still at the size of a six year old. Sabo and Ace were both twelve. Sabo was an inch taller than Ace, while he was slightly more muscular. They even had their feet measured so they could get proper shoes. Luffy was barefoot and the other two were in socks and that was it. Shoes were a must, so Tami said Izo would get on that quickly. None of them had any known underlying health conditions, so that part was quick.

"I will ask for permission, but I need to take blood samples. In case any of you are gravely injured, we should know what blood type you are in case you need a blood transfusion. Only if you get stuck in a pirate or marine raid on the ship. Are you okay with this?" Sabo nodded, making Ace and Luffy both agree. Sabo was the smart one. The needles were tiny, and they only took a small sample of each one.

When the nurses were unable to get blood samples of Luffy thanks to his fruit nullifying anything sharp, the doctor, Curiel, came in, and took the sample himself, covering the needle in haki to make it into the skin and take blood.

Luffy freaked out a bit when something stabbed him and didn't go through his skin like liquid, Ace and Sabo calmed him. He didn't hurt anyone because Ace and Sabo said that was bad.

Then, Marco and the captain had come in and were waiting by the door. They watched Luffy closely, who was growing irritated with the poking and prodding, though the nurses were being as nice as they could. Luffy finally yanked his arm back when Tami's nail poked it. He already had needles, he didn't need to be scratched, too.

"Stop it!" Luffy shouted, pulling his arm away. Sabo very lightly scolded Luffy for not being nice, but Luffy just frowned. He was uncomfortable here, and was tired of this testing. He wanted his room again. But, no one got hurt, and the event passed quickly. Luffy was a tad grumpy, but hadn't killed anyone. That was a plus. "I'm almost done. One more thing and then I'll let you go to Pops and Marco," Tami said, having apologized for poking him.

Ace and Sabo didn't seem worried Luffy would kill the nurses, knowing that he killed people, but not as mercilessly as an accidental poking his arm with a fingernail. Once the boys were done with the troublesome physical, Marco and the captain stood with another woman, Amy. She was the one that looked most like a pirate. She wasn't wearing the puffy outfit Tami, Whiskey and the other unnamed nurses were.

Amy wore a more pirate outfit, a sash on and leather boots on. She wore shorts and a tank top. "Come, let's do this outside," she said and lead the five men/boys out onto the deck, towards the back where no one would be watching. "Okay, Luffy, we're going to inspect your devil fruit. If anything is uncomfortable, tell me immediately, I don't want to distress you or make you upset. I did this with Jozu, another one of our devil fruit users. It will be poking and prodding, so I'm just going to warn you of that ahead of time.

"If it bothers you, say so. I'll listen and stop. Are you ready?" Amy asked, getting straight to the point. Luffy nodded, but his brows were furrowed in suspense, not knowing what to expect. "Now, what is the name of your devil fruit?" the boys were surprised with the simple question after she just acted like they were getting right into it.

"It doesn't have a name, it's manmade," Sabo said. Marco had already told Whitebeard this, so it wasn't a surprise. "But, it's supposed to be a zoan, demon model. That's what they named it," the blonde explained.

Amy wrote that down on her clipboard. "Can you tell me how you use it? And be honest, all the gruesome facts as well. Anything it can do, I'd like to know. No one but the captain and commanders will see this sheet of paper. It's confidential, I promise," she swore. Ace and Sabo didn't know anything about the fruit and they'd never been with Luffy on a mission.

Luffy shifted an arm, and spikes shot forward from it and pierced the deck all around them, barely missing the humans around. Whitebeard's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Well, that was fast," Amy said, and scribbled something down. "What else can you do?" No one needed to ask what Luffy used that particular move for. It was obvious.

"Suck things in," Luffy replied. Amy asked for him to show her. Luffy transformed completely, into that pulsing black monster and faced Marco.

"Go ahead," he sighed and stood up. "But not for too long." Luffy already knew Marco would survive this, so he was a good one to use as an example. It was also a show of trust, and Luffy knew that. Marco trusted that Luffy would put him back out. The man grimaced as he was swallowed whole into the black mass, before he was completely gone. The captain looked amazed but also horrified.

Suddenly, Marco was expelled, landing on his back and coughing. He hadn't been awake the last time he was expelled, and was covered in a slick liquid that they could only compare to saliva.

"Anything else?" Amy wrote, scribbling on the paper, having turned it around from running out of room to write. Luffy extended one arm that hooked into the deck, and pulled upwards, splintering the wood as he pulled it towards him. "Okay! That's enough, please don't hurt the ship." Luffy released the wood, his stick snapping back into place. "So, I saw earlier that you are able to change the size. Can you go your biggest, please? And don't worry about the weight on the deck, it will not break."

Everyone moved out of the way as Luffy expanded until he was too big, and the ship actually started to tilt backwards once he was roughly one third of the mass of the ship. His brothers and the crew members around him were pressed against the railing. By then, he shrunk back and the ship went back to normal. It had been bigger than any of them expected.

Luffy might have been able to suck the entire ship into his body if he got big enough. Then he went on the opposite spectrum, but could only be as small as a house cat. He changed back into human shape.

"And there's an in between form you can make?" Amy asked, watching him with bright eyes. Clearly she was interested in his fruit. Luffy was back to normal size, and then he was covered in the substance. "May I touch you?" Amy asked cautiously. Luffy didn't react for a second, before he nodded. Amy hesitantly touched him, and her hand sank into her arm. She pulled it back, though the substance stuck to her until she pulled back further. "Alright."

Luffy changed back, the black seeping back into his skin. "Well, what's interesting is that this 'fruit', as they called it, well, it's not a zoan. I don't think it's a devil fruit at all. Luffy, do you remember first eating it? What did it look like?" Luffy didn't remember.

"I don't remember."

"What do you mean, daughter?" Whitebeard asked, hiding his fascination with Luffy's ability.

"Normal fruits are either: zoan, paramecia or logia. There are subcategories, such as mythical zoan, or an awakened fruit. Awakened fruit users are rare, but they are out there. Luffy's power doesn't fit into any neat category. It has attributes of all three categories. The growing and shrinking, as well as being able to suck things in and store them is more like a paramecia power. Such as the Big Mom pirate fruit user who can us his body as similar to a logia and paramecia.

"But, Luffy also has the attributes as a logia. Being able to have my hand pass through him is more like a logia ability. While it does have certain aspects of a zoan fruit, like the two stages of form besides his normal, human form, it is not a zoan. Honestly, we should stop calling it a devil fruit at all. That just confuses things. At least for lesser people," Amy explained.

The three brothers looked surprised. Marco smiled and said, "Amy is a nut about devil fruit powers. Yet she doesn't want to be one herself."

"Oh! And someone said that sea stone doesn't work on him, correct?" Amy questioned.

Luffy shook his head. "Only bad water hurts." Amy nodded, like he'd proven her point.

"All in all, Luffy's ability can be called a demon's ability, though there is no scientific study that has proven demons do exist, but it's clearly not a devil fruit. It doesn't sit neatly in one category, and does not react to sea stone. I wouldn't be surprised if he can swim. I don't know what the nut job scientists made and gave to Luffy, but they were cocky to say they can create their own devil fruit."

She then turned to Luffy with a grin. "Your powers have been fascinating to study, Luffy, so thank you," and she walked away. It was sudden, and the boys were surprised by her immediate exit. Ace turned to Marco with a questioning look.

"Amy loves to study devil fruit users and their progression of abilities. She has whole journals about my, Pops's and Jozu's abilities. She's a bit bummed that there are only three of us here. So, you're not alone with that experience. She's been on the crew years and still asks us questions that pop up out of nowhere." Marco sounded fond, though.


	4. Welcomed?

**blueflamegoddess: Thanks for the review! Some marine activity will occur and I think it's some of the best scenes in the story. Dragon is not in this story and Luffy is not related to Garp or Dragon. Ace is still Garp's adopted grandson, though. Amy is a minor character, we'll see much more of the regular nurses than her.**

**Jasmine: You'll just have to see how Luffy changes or doesn't while with the Whitebeards. ;)**

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**Feeling so relieved that I finished my programming project, so sorry about posting late in the day. Still on the day I'm supposed to! But late nonetheless. And remember, minor spoilers for Wano are in bold. The one in this chapter is so vague it won't give anything away. But skip over it if you don't want to risk it. Enjoy~**

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Whitebeard stood, towering over the brothers. Luffy frowned at it, not liking how big this man was. He could smoosh Ace or Sabo. "Well, Luffy, your powers are very interesting. I'm going to be honest. Some are concerned over your abilities, that they're too powerful, but I'd love to help you grow in your skill of the powers. I think you can do so much more with these powers."

All three children looked thoroughly confused. "But…" Sabo mumbled. The captain just contradicted himself, didn't he? But the man laughed.

"I may love my children, but it does not mean I share each and every one's opinions," Whitebeard chuckled. "Though I do veto or pass the final decisions, a lot of thought comes from my commanders. This time, there was one side and the other, and I chose the side to keep you three on for now. Until an event happens or we end up someplace and you'd like to leave on your own." He was grinning at the shocked children.

Sabo suddenly bowed, and Ace followed after. Luffy didn't know what to do, so he bowed as well, following his big brothers' leads. "Thank you, sir!" Sabo shouted, sounding choked up. Whitebeard laughed his unique laugh.

"Stand tall, boys! I do enjoy new things, and your situation is definitely a new thing."

Marco looked to Luffy, who looked painfully confused and unsure. He looked at him in sadness, feeling for him. Marco observed as he lowered his eyes. "But, I'm bad," Luffy said, loud enough to be heard by the other four. "I kill people. People say I'm a monster, evil. Ace and Sabo said it's bad."

Ace put a hand on Luffy's head gently and pulled him to the side to rest against himself.

"Luffy, don't let what others say about you dictate what you think of yourself. You choose if you fit into cookie cutter 'good' or 'evil'. I agree, there are some truly wicked people in this world, but I think it's your actions that are either good or evil. Maybe some of your action have been evil, maybe not. But don't let those words make you feel you are one or the other.

"I do not consider myself or any of my children 'evil' but the marines and world government throw that word around so often it's become null. If you want to be 'good', do good things. If you would like to be 'evil', do wicked deeds. It's as simple as that. This is your chance to start over. Don't waste it, kid," Whitebeard finished with a grin, and walked away from the group. Ace and Sabo were both smiling.

Luffy wore a blank expression for a good minute. "I like banana-mustache man." Marco and the brothers broke out in laughter.

"I heard that, cheeky brat," Whitebeard called, though he sounded amused as well.

For the next two hours, Luffy followed Whitebeard around like a puppy. The man pretended he didn't notice when Luffy spied on him from some obvious hiding place. Everyone else, however did notice. His face was full of adoration that it made them all confused as to what had happened before Marco summed it up for them.

Already, some were doubting their initial thoughts about Luffy based on past behavior. Amy hadn't told anyone else about the "fruit" as it was not her place to do so, so they still all thought he had some creepy zoan fruit. It didn't help that no one knew the form of what Luffy's powers came from. It could have been some liquid, he could have been injected. It could have been all sorts of stuff and it left them without a definitive answer about where the power had come from.

When Haruta heard about Luffy's reaction to the captain's words, he was the first to feel guilt for wishing him gone in such a situation. Amy had seen his fruit in full form and wasn't shaking in fear from it. Yes, she was a strong willed woman, but he clearly hadn't attempted to harm anyone. Kingdew's theory that he hadn't said in front of those wishing Luffy well was that the kid must not be able to control it when he was in demon form was shot out of the water when nothing happened during the testing.

Some did report seeing Luffy turn massive, and the ship had tilted suddenly, people sliding down the deck and falling into one another before the ship righted itself. Pops didn't deny that being what happened, but wasn't worried one bit. He seemed perfectly at ease, and it did make some of the crew feel better, trusting his judgement, which was almost impeccable.

Dinner that night was an uncomfortable event. It was clear that not everyone was in agreement with keeping Luffy there. The three boys had walked into the galley, unsure of where to go. The room went quiet for a moment before the sounds resumed. Thatch called the boys over to the counter of the kitchen that was like a bar. "We are having a party tonight, so eat as much as you want. Nothing is off limits but the alcohol. Enjoy," the chef said with a bright grin.

Ace and Sabo made their own plates, Luffy unsure about much of the food. He picked out everything that was familiar. Ace chose some things he didn't recognize, as did Sabo. They turned around but didn't know where to sit. Everywhere seemed full. Marco called them over, and they saw that there were three chairs at the head of the table. Clearly there wasn't anymore room for them.

The three walked over, under the stare and glares of many people. The dinner was a little awkward, Luffy hating everyone's eyes on him. But, he wasn't going to get angry. Now that he knew killing was bad, it made him feel like a bad person. No one had ever told him killing was bad or wrong. Everyone always encouraged it, and Ace and Sabo had never said anything about it either. He didn't understand why. After all, Luffy never saw the people at the facility as bad people. He wouldn't know that Ace and Sabo would have been punished if they told Luffy killing was wrong.

Thatch's food was yummy, but so was the last place's. There was more variety of what people were eating here. Ace and Sabo liked that. They had only been able to eat Luffy's favorite foods, since he was the only one that mattered to those workers and master. It was mostly meat and sweets. All sorts of meat recipes, not just chunks of it. Which was lucky.

When they were finished eating, Luffy couldn't help but he angry. He was irritated with everyone watching him. They still all thought he ate a demon devil fruit when the nurse lady said he didn't. Why didn't anyone tell everybody else about that?

Ace put his hand over Luffy's on the table. It calmed down Luffy a little, but he was having trouble keeping his anger under control and not snapping. He was doing his best not to, but he was never taught to not get angry. He was always told it was fine, it was fine to kill anyone. Well, anybody but his brothers, who he wouldn't dream of hurting.

He was lost. Unsure. Ace and Sabo noticed and removed themselves and Luffy from the room.

-x-

"I think we should make an announcement, about Luffy's powers. Just the word 'demon devil fruit' is unnerving. Since that's not the case, maybe if we told everyone they wouldn't be so afraid of him. I know they just seem angry, but everyone's afraid," Marco said to his father at the dinner table. Thatch and those two were the only one's inside as everyone else was starting the party.

The chef was washing down the last table, since he always did a thorough cleaning after each meal, and was quite fast at it. It was impressive, but he was used to cleaning up after messy people. He'd had seven younger siblings before he joined the pirate crew.

"He seemed nice enough. I don't see what the big deal is," Thatch said, having been listening to Marco and Whitebeard's conversation. If it were anyone but a commander, they would have been sent out of the room. Both the captain and his first mate looked surprised at Thatch.

"I'm surprised you aren't terrified of him."

Thatch sat down at the table next to Marco, the room nice and clean. "Well, I was at first. I mean, his power is really creepy, and I was a bit angry he'd stolen you, but after talking and spending a little time with him, and then knowing you and Pops have allowed him to stay, well, he's not that bad. I just feel sorry for im, y'know? He just seems so confused." Thatch had always liked kids, and would cook feasts for little ones on their protected islands whenever they visited.

"He had been brainwashed, and was made to believe killing was nothing. Not a big deal. I mean, his missions were mostly killing people, and apparently he would just off whoever irritated him. After all, he was raised with that purpose," Marco explained with a scowl. Thatch and Whitebeard were frowning.

"So, he doesn't have a devil fruit?" Thatch questioned, wanting to change the subject a little. Marco shook his head.

"Amy said he doesn't. She thinks he was given something that wasn't a fruit, possibly an injection of some sort. But he's not affiliated with demons in any way. He may look scary, but demons don't exist. We know that," Marco replied. "His powers make him very strong, which makes sense as to why he was used instead of anyone else. A kid, a powerful kid, told murdering is fine would mess anyone up.

"I honestly don't think he will kill anyone here. Not after his brothers told him that killing was not good. I think it confused him a lot, but then after what Pops said to him, I think it made a real impact. If we can show him the perks of living normally, not killing, then I think he'll live a much happier life," the phoenix zoan finished.

Whitebeard spoke next, pushing the bench back to stand. "We'll make an announcement tomorrow at breakfast," he said in his deep voice. "Now, we have a party to attend about the reunion of our dear Marco."

No one was surprised when the boys weren't out there for the party. They were inside their rooms, the commanders' haki told them. They tried to push the three out of their minds as they celebrated finding Marco again. It had been a dark time without him. Pops had been especially frustrated the whole time. More than once he'd snapped at someone, only to apologize and feel bad for it.

The one who really tried to keep everyone happy was Thatch, though he was having a lot of trouble as well. He was the first member of the crew to join that had been Marco's age. Both seventeen years old. He had been there during the event that boss had brought up with Marco when he was locked up.

Everyone got as drunk as they could, with the exception of Izo and Marco, who couldn't get shit faced from his powers, though he still drank just as much as everyone else. "Son, do you know how old the brats are?"

"Eight and both older boys are twelve," Curiel said. "I looked into their files since I'm the head doctor. Luffy's a bit small for his age." Marco was pleased that Curiel used Luffy's name. Some on the crew were referring him as the "monster kid", which Whitebeard quickly shut down as soon as he heard someone utter it.

Much of the crew was unconscious once the party was over. Marco kept watch, even though if anyone came, Pops' haki would wake him. Izo was the only other one not passed out, and walked up next to him. He had let his hair down, as it was late and almost everyone else were asleep. It was normal for Izo to dress like this, ever since he was a child and was then later brought to the ship, unwillingly. Marco had been there, too. Wondering why he was dressed like that at first before not caring much, **just interested with the guy holding onto the rope attached to the back of the ship. **

"How you doing?" Izo asked, leaning against the railing that Marco was looking over. "No one has asked you what happened when you were abducted."

Izo always got right to the point. "It was lonely. Luffy absorbed me in just a second, there was no way anyone could have found me. I assume everyone felt guilty about that. I woke up chained to the wall with sea stone cuffs. It was in there that I decided I wanted to save the kids, including Luffy. The people there sickened me. Turning a little kid into some sort of artificial monster. Even if it wasn't conventional, Luffy was a slave. He just didn't know it, which broke my heart even more."

"What do you want to do with them now?" Izo questioned quietly.

Marco looked to the side at his brother. "I want to help Luffy adapt to the outside world and the brothers be able to live somewhere in peace."

"Even if something can go wrong?"

"Izo, something can always go wrong. I was going to piss in the woods and instead got kidnapped by an eight year old. Something can always go wrong," Marco pointed out. Izo smiled and shook his head.

"Well, I guess you have a point. Pops seems to have faith in the boys, so I will, too. Tomorrow I'll get their measurements and make them some clothes. Some nice ones, not those pyjamas and prison-like outfits. And we'll get some shoes for Luffy."

Marco nodded. "Thanks, Izo. For everything. I'm gonna go to bed, haven't slept in one in weeks and my matress sounds pretty nice right now," the blonde said, clapping his hand on Izo's shoulder.

"Goodnight."

"Night."

-x-

Despite being somewhere he wasn't familar with, and not liking the bedroom much, Luffy slept quite well that night. No bad dreams or anything. He didn't remember any dreams, but knew none were bad. He didn't look forwards to breakfast. He didn't want to be stared at, but as they headed to the galley, in another outfit since they each had two, though Luffy's were both sleep outfits, they noticed everyone looked sick.

"What's wrong with them?" Luffy asked as he heard people vomiting in the bathroom.

Ace laughed. "Probably hang overs. Makes you sick if you drink too much alcohol. Wouldn't want to be them right now." When they entered the galley, almost nobody was in there. Only two commanders, the captain, and a handful of pirates with their heads resting on the tables. There were people other than Thatch in the kitchen, cooking breakfast, which was small compared to last night's dinner.

The three got the food and cups of water and headed to the commanders, Marco having waved them over. "So, once it's dinner or lunch time and everyone's feeling better, we're gonna make an announcement about Luffy's false devil fruit. If they know you're _not _affiliated with demons in any way, maybe things will go more smoothly." Marco said it quite cheerfully. "We won't tell anyone but the commanders the varied powers you can use."

Whitebeard was thinking about something and asked, "Luffy, are you sure what wounds you is holy water?"

"That's what they said it was," Luffy replied. "But, they lied a lot, I guess. Maybe that's not true."

Izo then spoke. "You know, since you're not related to demons, which I believe don't exist in the first place, then being allergic or weak to holy water doesn't make sense. It has to be something else. Did it have a smell? A texture? Maybe it was something else."

Luffy took a bite of the french toast before answering. "Smelled really bad. Sour. it burned bad, made me feel weak where it hit me." Marco was thinking, and put his hand to his chin. Then his eyes brightened and he got up and walked away. Everyone looked after him, wondering where he went, but he was back quickly, carrying a glass bottle with clear liquid in it. Everyone but Luffy knew what it was and their eyes widened. Marco stood in front of Luffy and popped the lid off.

"I'm not going to put it on you, but I want you to smell this and tell me if it smells familiar," Marco explained patiently. Luffy nodded, and Marco set the bottle under his nose. His eyes widened and he shied away from the bottle.

"Well damn," Whitebeard said with a sigh. "So, alcohol makes you react badly? What happens when it touches you?"

"Burns my skin and takes away my power. I don't remember it, but this happened," Luffy said, glad Marco took the bottle of alcohol and poured it down the drain in the kitchen. He lifted up the sleeve of his pajama shirt to show a nasty white patch on it with a pinkish-white line that wrapped around his arm in the spot with the bruise.

Izo looked horrified, Ace and Sabo ashamed. They knew it was there since they met Luffy. Which meant it had happened to him before they came, when he was younger than six years old. It sickened both of them. They were clearly unable to do anything about it, but still felt guilty for some reason.

"Did someone cut your arm off?" Whitebeard asked, voice steady despite the horrible topic.

"I think."

"And it grew back?" Luffy nodded. "We'll need to tell that to Amy so she can record it. We will all be careful with the alcohol on this ship. How about you don't go near any pirates who are drunk? Alcohol reacts to regular humans quite different than reacting to your body. It makes us feel good, so we drink it a lot. There is no way we can get rid of all the booze on the ship, but we can be more careful."

Marco walked back over and Izo said, "Boys, I'd like to get your measurements to make you some new clothes. You need more then pajamas and some shoes for Luffy would be very useful."

"Thank you," Sabo said politely. He looked at his own and Ace clothes, which were white shirts and white shorts. It was clear that Luffy had been favored and they were both after thoughts. "New clothes would be welcomed."

Luffy nodded in agreement, though he had no issues with his pyjamas. He ate the rest of his food in peace, the brothers left alone while they chowed down. Pirates started to trickle in, some looking worse than others. One of the bigger commanders that the boys hadn't met came over and sat down, glaring at Luffy before going to get his food. He was a grumpy looking man, with dark skin and blonde hair.

"Don't worry, he glares at everyone," the smallest commander said in Luffy's ear, making him jump. "My name's Haruta." He stuck his hand out to shake the brothers' hands individually. "Hey, do you think I could see your powers sometime? I wanna see how you got Marco. How on earth could he get caught so easily?" Then he laughed and hurried to get food, which was coming out in a faster pace as the cooks worked. Thatch still wasn't there.

Luffy looked confused, and glanced at his brothers. Sabo ruffled his hair affectionately. "Not everyone is scared, apparently," he said with a smile.


	5. A Little Bit of The Puzzle

**blueflamegoddess: Garp does not play a major role, but he is mentioned later. Nothing really follows cannon. Shanks is not a major player in the story either. There are lots of twists and turns but really, nothing matches cannon besides a few evens that are sorta-kinda similar. **

**Jasmine: They are not in the story. Briefly mentioned, but not like most of my other stories.**

**Push23: thank you!**

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**Sorry I'm a day late! I was distracted yesterday. This chapter reveals more about the mystery of Luffy and his body. So, those who are reading from a country affected by the coronavirus, stay safe and do what you can to keep yourself from getting sick. Good luck. Enjoy~**

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Everyone was surprised with Haruta's interaction with Luffy. He had been one of those to vote against keeping him, yet now he was acting like they were old friends. Marco and Izo eyed him suspiciously, thinking he might still be drunk and that was why, but he didn't seem intoxicated. He even sat next to Luffy. The kid was confused, and shuffled away from the smaller commander.

Haruta was the youngest of the commanders, and one of the youngest on the ship. Only 24. The only commander who was younger than thirty. He was also one of the most immature ones on the ship, the only one to rival him, Thatch.

After the commanders all sat at the table, Izo, already done with his food, asked the boys if they were ready to go get their measurements taken. Ace and Sabo had done this before, with a nice lady in their village who made them clothes, since they didn't exactly have a very nice home life. They didn't like to think about her because it made them sad.

They both assumed the marines killed Makino before Luffy got there and wiped out the marines and government officials. As gruesome and terrifying as it was, the boys had been glad to see the marines all dead. It had been scary, being dragged away by Luffy, who had been soaked in blood. Even when they got back to the facility, burlap sacs over their heads, Luffy looked frightening.

Ace and Sabo had been afraid to speak, until Luffy had completely changed and smiled, announcing they all needed baths. He didn't understand why his new friends were afraid of him. It hurt his feelings when they rejected him trying to play with them. But things had changed a lot since then. And none of them liked thinking of that time.

The boys were lead to a room that was full of things they assumed made clothes and mended them when they needed. The wall was a huge shelf, full of different colored and textured fabrics. There were multiple sewing stations, and tons of clothes everywhere. "Come over here," Izo said, gaining their attention again and leading them to a stool with a bunch of mirrors near it.

"Who wants to go first?" the three didn't answer for a moment before Ace volunteered with a sigh. It was easy, he didn't have to take his shirt off. Izo measured around his chest, waist, hips and his torso and legs length wise. It went fairly quickly, and Izo took Luffy's shoe size, even though he told Izo what it was. Next, they were lead to the wall of fabrics.

"What colors would you like?" he asked. "You can choose any color."

Luffy chose the patterned ones, while Ace chose red and Sabo chose blue. It went by quickly, and then Izo brought Luffy to Amy to tell her the new things the pirates had discovered. Of course, his brothers came, too.

"You can regrow limbs?" Amy asked in shock when Luffy told her.

"I don't remember what happened, but I guess so," Luffy replied. Amy said she was glad he didn't remember, and jotted down the information on bold pen about Luffy's being very vulnerable to alcohol.

While they all spoke, Izo left to go back to the galley, where Whitebeard was addressing everyone.

-x-

The moment Whitebeard knew the boys and Izo were far from the galley's double doors, he stood up, pushing the bench out and making many of his sons scramble for balance. The room went quiet, even though the man could have been getting up for any reason. But, it was too much of a coincidence for him to get up right as their guests left.

"Sons, I want to let you all know some information about Luffy. He does not have a zoan devil fruit, and he is not related to any 'demons'. His captors gave him something that supplied him with powers similar to a devil fruits. But, he is not a fruit user. He doesn't react to seastone, which is a good enough indicator that he is not one.

"Amy has tested him, and we all know how skilled she is with devil fruits. This fact does not change that Luffy has lived a dark life so far, but it does show he is just a child. A child who was given something to make him abnormal.

"If there's any proof to let you know he didn't ask for this life, it is that his captors cut off his entire arm as an experiment. I want us, and everyone on this ship, to do their best to welcome him and show that not all adults as cruel and blood thirsty. Pirates though we may be, we are not 'evil'. And Luffy is not, either. I want you to all do your best to give him a blank slate."

When he sat down, it was silent for a few more seconds before chatter started up again. There were many conversations about the topic at hand, but most went back to what they'd been talking about before the captain's announcement.

The commanders started asking questions of the two who had been there for Amy's testing, but the two didn't want to talk into too much detail while others in the crew were eavesdropping. "I will tell you all more in a commander's meeting. As soon as everyone is feeling better from their hangovers."

Some at the table still felt sick. Thatch had come in during the announcement looking ill, face a little green. He was usually the one on the ship that reacted the strongest to too much alcohol, yet he never limited himself. His limit was until he's passed out. He downed a couple pills from his pocket and ate his sous chefs' food slowly. They were talented, and he wasn't disgusted with the food, but eating was never pleasant after being hungover. But, Thatch knew the importance of keeping yourself healthy and eating two or three meals a day.

The boys didn't go back inside, but Izo came back and informed them he had measured the kids, and they had gone back to their room. "I gave Luffy some paper and pencils in case he wanted to draw."

"Since when do you like kids?" Vista asked curiously. Izo didn't have much patience for young people, including Haruta and he was 24.

"These ones aren't bratty, little shits," he answered simply. Marco chuckled, but agreed. Luffy seemed like a handful, not all for the wrong reasons, but he didn't seem bratty or generally a rude kid. Sure he grew frustrated with the nurses, but they were also poking, prodding, and sticking needles in him. He hadn't gotten violent, despite the fact he was upset. The other two were respectful as well. Though, they'd all been through a lot. Marco and the others wanted to know how the three met. It sounded interesting, but like it would also be sad.

After the pills had taken effect with Thatch, he said he was good enough to have the commander's meeting he knew was dependent on him feeling better. The higher ups cleaned up their plates and brought them to the kitchen for the sou chefs on duty to wash before too many plates overwhelmed them.

The sixteen pirates walked through the tall hallways and to the meeting room, which had a door that locked and was thick enough that no one could dream of hearing what was being said inside. Whitebeard sat at the head of the table, his sons in their division seats, counting to sixteen around the table, though the second division seat still wasn't filled. **It would be hard to replace the previous commander. He was an interesting guy to say the least.**

"I'll get straight to the point. I've already said Luffy is not a 'demon' zoan, but there's is a lot to explain about it. It may make some of you uneasy, but remember, I could destroy the world if I wish." It was an interesting way to start the briefing, but it was a good hook as well, and all the commanders were silent to hear more.

Whitebeard explained the entirety of Amy's session, having some of them finally know what had tilted the ship. They couldn't help but be glad he wasn't some sort of demon zoan, even though he had still done some bad things. Well, bad to most people. After all, none of them had clean hands as well.

"We have found his weakness. It weakened him enough they were able to chop his entire arm off." The captain gave a heavy sigh. "It's not holy water. It's alcohol." Everyone was silent for a moment before talk erupted, many lamenting that "we _can't _get rid of the booze!" Marco put his hand to his forehead, and Thatch covered his ears from the loud noises.

"Sons! Calm yourselves!" Whitebeard shouted, though he was amused. "We are not purging the ship of all alcohol. We are just going to be more careful. I think we should only drink when Luffy is not in the room. I, and I doubt anyone else, don't want him to get hurt. I don't want him to lose any trust in us. We will have to be careful. We can't throw alcohol around leisurely anymore. Someone on our ship is highly allergic, so we must be respectful about that."

"Pops… why are we doing so much for them? Luffy kidnapped Marco, caused him to be locked in a prison cell for weeks. Why?" Namur asked.

Whitebeard had a blank mask on, and Marco had turned his chair around completely. "None of you were here when I found Marco. So, you don't understand the similarities I see in their situations. I will not go into detail, Marco will tell you if he is ever comfortable. I cannot stand by and not try to help someone as I helped Marco. Luffy is even younger than your brother was when he was in a similar situation.

"That is reason enough, but I have taken a liking to him already." Marco had composed his expression and turned back around to give appraising looks to those who were watching him in confusion. Thatch was frowning, remembering what Marco was like back then.

It was before he had his devil fruit, and he was still covered in scars and burns. All of those are gone now, but they were very noticeable back then. Marco gave Thatch a pointed look. _Don't tell anyone. _Thatch could tell what he was thinking, and he nodded. He wouldn't say anything.

After the briefing was over, Whitebeard took questions. Well, some were aimed at Marco instead.

"It was like being enveloped into a sticky swamp. Honestly, it was a disgusting feeling, but I was knocked out quickly. It might have just been because of my powers that I didn't suffocate," he explained when Haruta asked. They wrinkled their noses. "It didn't smell like anything, but I would like to not have to touch it again."

"Ace and Sabo willingly stuck their hands into it, didn't they?" Jozu asked. Marco smiled.

"They're brothers, what did you expect? They did what they could to calm him. It worked, didn't it?" He was then asked if he knew the story of how they met, but he didn't.

"So, wait… those guys just _said _he ate a demon devil fruit? How lame. Making up a devil fruit just to sound cool," Rayuko said.

Izo replied with, "Well, it worked, right? Before Amy's session, we all thought it was accurate, and it made everyone uneasy. It struck fear in us just by the name. They were wonderful manipulators, making Luffy feel he was loved." Marco had told them about Luffy not knowing anything was wrong, and assuming that Ace and Sabo only didn't say anything for Luffy's sake.

"I guess that's true. Will we tell anyone else about the alcohol weakness?" Vista wondered. Whitebeard replied that they wouldn't specifically say that it was Luffy's only weakness, but to be careful because his skin reacts to it unfavorably.

"I'm so glad we don't have to get rid of the booze," Thatch sighed. Marco chuckled.

"So you can continue to have horrific hangovers?" Thatch shot back that it was all worth it. The meeting had changed tones, and it was now light talking, nothing overly serious and they were relaxed now that the decisions had been made. Marco really thought his brothers would try with the boys.

-x-

Luffy was sitting on the bed while Ace went to the bathroom and Sabo was reading one of the books he'd gotten from the library, trying to make something out of his goo. They wished there was a name for it. Thick, textured oil? Well, he had his hand turned into it, slowly his arm changing along with it. But all he could make was sharp edges. He couldn't make any sort of form.

Sabo looked up from his book. "Lu, there's no need to force yourself."

"But all I can do is bad stuff!" Luffy protested in a frustrated voice. Sabo closed his novel, sticking a piece of paper inside to mark his page, and walked to the bed.

"Your power isn't only bad. We now know Whitebeard's fruit, and nothing good comes from that one, right? No matter what he does, it will cause damage to somewhere or someone. Your power is very versatile. Meaning, it can be used in many ways. How about you just make sure you do useful things? Like protecting yourself or your brothers?" Sabo said in a kind voice. Luffy kicked his feet over the side of the bed, and mumbled something too quiet for Sabo to understand. "What was that?"

"I _thought_ I was doing useful stuff! They told me I was!" he said loudly, looking angry but feeling upset and confused. Like he was having an identity crisis after learning everything he thought was fine was bad, the people he thought cared for him didn't.

Sabo sighed and touched Luffy's cheek. "You are who you want to be. Not what anyone else says you are. Do you want to be evil?" the blonde asked seriously.

"No!"

"Well, then you aren't. Easy as that, right?" Sabo said lightly. "And Whitebeard already said it pretty well, don't you think?" Luffy pouted but nodded his head. "And hey, maybe while we're here, you can learn how to use your power for more productive things. There are three devil fruit users here, after all. You may not have a real devil fruit, but they still have powers. Maybe you can relate to them and learn some stuff yourself."

"Will they want to teach me? People think I look gross in my other form. I feel gross, too," Luffy replied in a grumpy voice.

Sabo was quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say that wasn't a lie. He didn't want to lie to Luffy anymore. He wanted the boy to have the truth form those around him, not live in someone else's bubbles. "Well, I do admit that your other form is a little shocking, but maybe some day you'll be able to change shape. After all, you have a shape in your half changed form.

"Your power can save you, too. That's why you've been alive after all of your missions. But you didn't learn much in those missions, right? You just used one move to kill people?" The youngest nodded. "Then you can't be expected to learn new things over night after not having anyone encourage you in any way."

Luffy didn't reply, but knew Sabo had a point. "The people here, I think are good people. You think so, too. Better people than those where we came from. These people will tell you the truth. Being here is a good thing. Don't lose hope, Lu. Now that we're free from that place, we have all the hope we want." Luffy leaned forward and hugged Sabo tightly.

Ace walked in on the hug and hurriedly shut the bedroom door. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly, heading to the bed. "Is everything okay?"

Sabo smiled. "It's fine, Luffy is just feeling a little unsure and insecure. It's a new situation. Things haven't been new for Lu in a long time," the blonde explained patiently. Luffy nodded in agreement. The door was knocked on a few minutes later. Sabo stood up and opened the door to see Thatch there. He didn't look hungover anymore, but it was mid afternoon. Maybe they didn't last that long. None of the boys would know, after all.

"Hey guys! So, since you'll probably be here for awhile, I wanted to show you around," the chef said cheerfully. "The ship is really big, so it will be easy to get lost. How 'bout it?"

Luffy's nod was the deciding vote for all three, and Luffy took their hands, like the unsure child he was. He looked especially young right now. The ship was extremely large, they already knew that, but hadn't really thought about it being big on the _inside, _too. There were five floors, and two of them were for bedrooms. Their guest room was on the second floor from the bottom. The very bottom had the brig and most of the storage rooms that weren't for food.

The three didn't get a tour of the brig, since Thatch said it was smelly and cold, no one was ever down there, so there was no reason for them to see it. They didn't mind, never really wanting to be anywhere like a jail ever again.

The fourth floor up, above the two bedroom floors and the brig, had most of the important places that weren't the galley and infirmary. It also had the most storage, the library Sabo had visited earlier, a lounge of some sort that no one really went in for some reason, the meeting room, and the winery, where all the booze was stored. Thatch pointedly kept that door closed, and he pointed out the new lock on the door.

"Since the booze won't be leaving the ship, we've put some more precautions on it." He winked at Luffy with a smile. The ground floor had the galley, kitchen, a few empty rooms, and the large infirmary. There were three staircases positioned at ends of the ship. Luffy was sure he'd still get lost, but was glad his brothers' had been there so they could help him.

All three of them noticed less glares and dark looks were given to them, and were glad. It made Luffy feel less bad. When they ended back up at their room, Thatch still seemed to want to hang out, and might have noticed Luffy's sad demeanor. "Do you guys want to hear some stories?" Ace didn't look especially interested, but both Sabo and Luffy did, if it was a little hesitant for the youngest.

"Okay," Sabo answered for all three of them. The boys were sitting on one side of the bed while Thatch was sitting on the desk against the wall near the door, where a lamp and Sabo's book were sitting. Along with Luffy coloring books.

"Let me tell you about when we recruited Haruta." Thatch then launched into a story about Haruta setting the ship on fire for a prank, and Ace and Sabo had no idea how stupid soemone could be to set something on _fire _as a prank. "He was the one to do all the repairs, had offered it himself. And he did! All by himself. His excuse for the prank was that 'The ship is in the water so I thought it would make the flames go out'!" Thatch laughed at the story.

The boys, however were concerned with the higher ups on the ship being so stupid. Luffy didn't mention it, but shared looks with his brothers. "Someone that… impulsive was made a commander?" Sabo asked slowly in disbelief.

"Oh! I left out the fact he was drunk."

"That's still not very reassuring," Ace replied. The man laughed again.

"That's nothing compared to what me and Marco did when we were teens. But I'm sure he wouldn't want me talking about that." Instead, he started talking about a much better topic that didn't have the brothers questioning the higher ups on the ship; the floating city on water. None of the three had ever heard of sea trains, so it was nice to listen to.

-x-

Marco walked into the infirmary to get some pain cream since Haruta had slammed his arm into the doorway and was whining about it_. _When he saw the nurses gathered in the corner, looking confused, he knocked on the doorway to announce his presence. Tami jumped, but turned around and walked over, asking what she could do for Marco.

"Haruta slammed his elbow into the doorframe and wants some pain cream. What's going on? Is everything okay?" he asked, looking at the other nurses all crowded around Whiskey, who was looking through a microscope.

"Well… Luffy won't be able to get any blood transfusion from anyone if he needs it," the blonde nurse said. When Marco gave a questioning look, Tami gave him the cream and then lead him over to the head nurse.

"Is that Luffy's blood right there?" Marco asked.

"Yes," Whiskey said slowly. "You said he didn't have a devil fruit, correct?" she asked, still looking at the blood through the microscope. When Marco answered no, she continued. "I think Luffy was injected with whatever gave him those powers." She stood and moved to the side for Marco to look.

"Normal blood doesn't do this," Whiskey said as Marco watched. There were tiny black particles in it, swirling around but not making any move towards the other cells. They didn't look like a disease as they weren't targeting anything or multiplying. The black particles seemed relatively harmless, as they looked like red blood cells but black and with a hole in them. Little hoops.

"As an experiment, after Curiel told us about the new danger of alcohol, we took a little aside and dropped a drop of alcohol in it. It reacted quite strongly to it. Look," Wendy explained, and held up a baggy that had a glass slide in it. It had a charred burn on it, clearly ruined and never able to be reused again.

"Almost blinded Whiskey under the microscope," Tami commented. "Ace and Sabo's blood are both normal, so they weren't affected by whatever was done to Luffy. But we cannot let him ingest any alcohol or I could honestly see it killing him. If his blood had such a violent reaction to it, imagine what it would do to the inside of his body?"

Marco frowned. "That sounds a lot worse than the affects of sea stone," he said slowly. He brought his thumb to his bottom lip and chewed on the nail while thinking. "Well, theres no way anyone on this crew would be okay with the alcohol going, besides you guys, and we put a lock on the winery door. What else can we do?" he asked.

Whiskey leaned back in the chair. "I don't see that we could do anything more. I don't know if it's the best idea to let everyone know about this big danger. On one hand, it would make everyone aware, but on the other…"

"It would be an easy way to off him if anyone doesn't agree with him being here," Marco finished. Tami added, "Or if he goes out of control, someone might use it carelessly and end up killing him."

Marco sighed, putting the little plastic container of pain cream in his pocket. "Don't tell anyone about this. Not even Luffy himself. Not yet," Marco ordered. The nurses agreed, but Whiskey continued to observe the blood.

"I would like to do more tests on it, so I'll keep you or Pops updated on anything new we learn," the head nurse said, removing the slide she was looking at and taking Sabo's capsule and observing that. Marco thanked them and left. He was uneasy, but hid the expression from the others when he took the cream to his fellow commander.

"What took you so long?!" he shouted, snatching the cream and rubbing it over the red spot on his arm. He glared at Marco, who apologized. Didn't give his reason, but apologized. He did seem distracted, though.


	6. Scary Outcomes

**Here is the next chapter! It has a lot of stuff happen, more on Luffy's mystery power. I just now finished another story, as many of my stories are being wrapped up soon. It's pretty long and a lot of it is romance with Marco and Ace, but not the main focus. It's gonna take a couple days to edit (150,000 words -_-) Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

It was after dinner that Whitebeard was approached by Curiel and the nurses. He was walking down the hall when Whiskey called for him to stop, having been looking for him. They each looked concerned and a bit freaked out. The captain stopped and asked them what was wrong. "We need you to come to the infirmary," Curiel said in a dark voice.

"Alright," Whitebeard replied, feeling nervous and worried about whatever gave his children these unnerved looks. Two of the nurses were standing outside the room, keeping the doors closed. Usually, at least two of the nurses would be asleep since they'd have the night shift, but all of them were awake and outside of the infirmary.

The doors were opened to let the captain in and his eyes widened. Whiskey was stuck to the wall, her hand trapped in that disgusting gooey substance that Luffy's power was made of. It wasn't moving around, but Whiskey's wrist was bleeding. She didn't look afraid, just irritated and bored.

"Pops, please bring someone to get this fucking thing off of me," she snapped. Whiskey didn't get afraid easily, and didn't show pain when she was in it. Whitebeard was speechless, but saw the shattered remains of a microscope on the floor.

"What the hell happened?" he asked as he hurried over, and grabbed the thing attached to his daughter's hand and pulled on it, hard. It stuck to his hand next, but didn't do anything other than just stick there. He tried to get it off with his other hand, but it just stuck to that one. Like an annoying piece of tape.

"We've separated Luffy's vial of blood from the others and any of the blood supplies. Apparently, whatever substance that is in his blood doesn't react well with other types of blood. If this was manmade, which they said it is, someone may have designed it this way," Whiskey said as she treated her own wrist. The stick had had a broken piece of the microscope in it and it had cut the head nurse.

"This was formed when the blood mixed?" the captain asked, stopping trying to get the blob off, because it clearly wasn't going to. "Has it done anything but stick to things?"

Tami started quarantining the section of the infirmary that this thing had touched. Curiel looked highly disturbed. "I wasn't in here, but Wendy was screaming so I heard and came running. It was bubbling up and ended up breaking the microscope. It doesn't seem to have done any harm, but we can't have this in here. We'll have to disinfect the whole area."

Whitebeard walked outside and brought out a broom from the broom closet near the entrance into the ship. He peeled off the goop from his hand, and it stuck to the broom, which he threw into the water. There was nothing left on his hands, and it didn't seem to have harmed him in any way.

He hurried back inside, Marco following after seeing the captain throw something overboard. The nurses were wiping down every surface, the infirmary doors shut and locked. The two pirates could see them working through the windows. Whiskey was ushered inside the showers to wash her down in case the goop carried anything harmful. After all, it originated from blood.

Curiel was standing outside the doors and pacing. "Son, what do you think?"

"I don't think it was sentient. It looked like a reaction, a chemical reaction. All it did was stick, but it did seem to absorb pieces of the broken microscope, which injured Whiskey's wrist. But, it was only for a single drop. Imagine his blood being in the blood cooler. I wish we could have done testing on it, but it is too unknown to not be testing in a secure room, so thank you for getting rid of it.

"We didn't try anything else on it, just leaving it be and not touching it. It may be hazardous, but I do not think it was alive. It stuck, but it didn't move on its own. I wish we knew whatever was put into Luffy so we knew more about this, but you say he was too young to know, so we won't be getting any easy answers. It caught Whiskey on the wall because she started trying to fling it off and her arm hit the wall, sticking to it."

"Do you think it's a danger?" Whitebeard asked quietly. Curiel shook his head.

"I do not think Luffy's 'goop' as we'll call it, since that's what it looks like, is toxic or hazardous. After all, Marco was completely enveloped in it when Luffy took him. Ace and Sabo had also touched it, stuck their hands in it, and nothing happened. I don't think it's a danger by itself. If Luffy used it in a way of a weapon, then it would be different.

"I don't think we need to worry about some sort of outbreak on the ship. To be completely honest, I feel that Luffy is an accident. I know chemistry and most chemical concoctions were originally made by accident. I have no idea what would have made him like this, though. He might have been an experiment, which could explain him having his arm chopped off as a test."

Marco had no idea what was going on, but he was patient and asked once the conversation was mostly over. Curiel explained the situation, and Marco just looked thoroughly interested. "Is Whiskey alright? Are _you _alright? You two are the ones who touched it, right?" he asked the captain.

"I am fine, son. I didn't feel any pain from it, it was just an annoyance. Whiskey got a cut from a piece of the microscope that was stuck in it," he answered. "Marco, did you feel any pain when Luffy's 'goop' touched you?" Marco shook his head. "It seems there is still much to know about this substance. I am curious about it now. I can't help it."

Marco sighed. Curiel then commented, "As long as it's not dangerous,we can section off a part of the ship and use it for testing. Maybe Luffy would be willing to assist. Might make him feel more welcome if we're not shunning him for this."

Marco smiled. "That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure it would entertain the three as well." He looked up to the captain who shrugged in a way to say that it was fine with him. "But not tonight, of course."

"Maybe tomorrow, then. Sharing the information with him and his brothers will hopefully convey a sense of trust. We're not hiding anything from them regarding them," Whitebeard said. Marco confessed that he'd told the nurses to hide the information about the alcohol being so deadly.

"We'll keep that unknown for now," Whitebeard responded. It was later, so he wouldn't be surprised if the boys were asleep after a long day. He walked past their room on his way to his own captain's quarters, and felt all three inside and laying down. He had a feeling things would be very interesting on the ship. At least in one sense.

-x-

Before breakfast, Luffy was trying to do anything useful with his power. But all it was was either liquidy goo or sharp shards of whatever it was in hardened form. He huffed quietly, his brothers getting ready for the day. There had been some clothes outside of their bedroom door, three outfits each. The speed at which they were created impressed the boys.

Luffy's were short sleeved shirts and comfy shorts. Sabo had requested long sleeves, so that's what he had. Ace had tank tops. The main reason Luffy didn't have tanktops was the scar on his upper arm that showed the burn and proof his arm had been cut off. Luffy had shoes, which were flip flops. They were comfortable enough, so he was fine with him.

After Sabo was fully dressed, more than satisfied with his clothes, he opted for them to go eat breakfast. Luffy made the stick disappear into his skin again and stood up to follow his brothers out of the room and to the galley. He may not be too good with remembering where things were, but both of his brothers had paid close attention to the tour the previous day.

Chatter was loud in the galley, and this time didn't die down to much with the boys' entrance. Luffy shot some people a glare who looked at them, but it was nothing too threatening. They just scowled and looked away, which was good enough for Luffy. He wasn't going to kill them as long as - no, he _wasn't _going to kill _anyone_. Period! Some could see the conflict play out on his face, but no one said anything of it.

The three ate a large amount of food when they were free to, which none of the pirates got mad at, which was nice and comforting. They could also see some of those on the crew eating a very large portion. Whitebeard was at the table, a little diagonal to the boys, and he had a massive serving as well. Though it was to be expected for someone so big.

It was shocking to the other pirates with how much Luffy ate considering his small stature. He ate so much food that they all wondered if it had something to do with his powers. Maybe they absorbed the food, or burned it off quickly. But that didn't explain Ace's near identical amount of food he consumed.

After pirates began to leave the galley after the meal, most of the commanders stayed. Marco called the brothers over to sit closer to Whitebeard. Shuffling was made while the pirate let up some room for the boys to sit nearer the captain and first mate.

"What is it?" Sabo asked, alibiet sounding nervous. Not knowing what to expect, good news or bad. At first, it sounded bad.

"Last night, the nurses were doing some tests with your blood samples. We've found what blood type Ace and Sabo are, but Luffy's blood is abnormal. Everyone is sure it is having to do with your powers. When they then tested further on that, and mixed yours and your brother's, something formed." Marco handed the boys a photo of the goo that was on Whiskey's wrist.

"Hey, that's my thing!" Luffy exclaimed. Sabo looked worried.

He looked up from the photo and asked nervously, "Did it do anything bad?" Whitebeard shook his head, making the boys sigh in relief.

"It was just incredibly sticky," Curiel said, finally jumping into the conversation. "We wanted to see if you'd like to be present while we do further testing? It's your blood, after all." Ace exchanged a look with Sabo and then both looked down to Luffy. He looked excited for once, not scared or confused.

"Can we figure out what I am?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"That's not how I would word it," Curiel said slowly, "But we may learn more about your abilities by more testing. Is that alright? Do we have permission to do more tests on your blood?" Luffy nodded immediately.

Ten minutes later, the boys stood outside one of the empty storage rooms that had been converted. In the short amount of time before breakfast, the nurses had put up plastic tarps along the walls, along with a pile of gloves and surgical masks. There was a fire extinguisher, two bottles of alcohol in a sealed bag, and some other supplies in case something went wrong.

The boys had the masks on, and were told it was a precaution to be careful when handling blood. There was a vial of Luffy's blood and a few vials of others' bloods. Including the devil fruit users' on the ship and all the singular types of blood.

"Make sure you stay back," Whiskey said. The three boys couldn't conceal their excitement. They did as they were told and stood back. Curiel was in full hazardout outfit. There were commanders standing outside, making sure no one came by and also wanting to hear what was happening.

The first reaction was between Luffy and Sabo's blood. It was the same reaction as it had been the night before, and Luffy looked at it interestedly. "Curiel handled it and then slipped it into a plastic bag. Whiskey wrote down what was in it, and handed it to the boys to look at. "Don't touch it. We've determined they aren't hazardous, but it's never a bad thing to play it safe."

Next was a reaction to Ace's blood, which was a different substance than Sabo's had been. While Sabo's reaction had made it into a thick glob of stickiness, Ace's reaction made it turn into liquid, and they couldn't wipe it up. It was like oil. Eventually, a mop was used, and it worked. They just had to get rid of the mop now. For some reason they were losing cleaning supplies with these reactions.

It sparked interest in everyone present. Reacting to other blood types was each different as well. Different textures, but still sticky and slimy. Some just more liquidy than others. The only type that got no reaction was F, which made the medical experts in the room think that must be Luffy's blood type, or had been before whatever was put into his body.

"Do you want to see what happens when we mix it with devil fruit users' blood?" Tami asked. Luffy nodded excitedly. Ace and Sabo hadn't seen him this fascinated with anything since the massive pack of crayons he'd gotten last year. First was Jozu's blood. "Jozu has the power to turn his body into diamond," Tami explained before mixing the blood and hurrying away.

Nothing happened for a moment before Luffy's blood seemed to evaporate until only Jozu's blood was left. The room was quiet for a moment. "What happened?" Luffy asked. "Where'd it go?"

The medical experts were all stumped but fascinated. "Well, I'm not sure. It looks like it evaporated, or maybe burned away some how. Well, let's try the other ones, too. Then we can test them again a second time just to see," Whiskey explained. "Next up is Marco's blood. He has a phoenix zoan fruit. It makes him able to regenerate and heal."

"I know. They told me when I was supposed to get him," Luffy said casually, reminding everyone that it was him who had caught the great Phoenix Marco. Though they weren't mad at him anymore. It just reminded them of how strong this little boy really was. Maybe not strong, powerful was a better word.

A drop of Luffy's blood was mixed with Marco's, and it erupted into flame that soon turned black and didn't burn out. They waited for it to burn out, but it continued to burn, and burn. Soon it had been burning for ten minutes, a tiny flame that wasn't spreading anywhere or growing any bigger or smaller.

Curiel came over eventually and doused it in water, which sizzled it out and nothing was left. "That was cool!" Luffy exclaimed. Whitebeard looked absolutely fascinated, and it was his turn to have his blood mixed.

Marco also looked extremely interested. His blue flames had turned into black and he had to admit that it was unsettling, while also amazing. And the fact that they didn't burn away… incredible. He couldn't set other things on fire, but his flames could last for a long time if he didn't willingly turn them off. Ace and Sabo were sitting down against the wall by now, Luffy still standing and watching excitedly.

"Lastly, Pops' blood," Curiel said. Everyone grew quiet and watched as the two drops of blood mixed. Nothing happened for a minute before it turned black, and started to grow bigger. A tiny drop had turned into a small puddle on the plastic floor. When it continued to grow, the nurses took action and cut the plastic on the floor up to make a bag and sealed it closed while it grew more and more, hurrying outside to toss it over the side of the ship. When it hit the water, the bag floated away, blood still inside.

Whitebeard had to admit he was disappointed with his reaction. Marco read that on his face, and smirked in amusement. The captain looked away, embarrassed he was caught. Marco laughed and so did the other few in the room.

"Now, time for the next phase in the experiments," Curiel announced once the floor was covered in plastic once again. They were going to need to restock on it at the next island they got to. There was a small bowl with Luffy's blood in it, and the head nurse lit a match before dropping it into the little bowl. Tami had the extinguisher ready, but the blood didn't react at all. The flames were doused once the match sunk into the red liquid.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Marco commented. Next, Luffy's blood was mixed with water. It didn't mix in the water, it stayed together like a sort of oil would. Even though his blood seemed normal enough by looks, it was not like normal blood. It floated along the surface, not sinking but also not mixing.

Whiskey looked at Luffy and walked in front of him. "Luffy, you might not want to see the next test. It could be possibly scary," she warned. Luffy looked confused. "We're going to try mixing alcohol with the blood to see what the reaction will be," she explained slowly. Luffy frowned, but then his expression turned determined.

"I'll be fine," he said. Whiskey nodded, accepting his decision, and opened the bag with both bottles of alcohol. The brothers were told they were both the strongest and weakest of the alcohol on the ship. They started with the weakest, mixing a drop into Luffy's blood. His vial was dwindling ever smaller. The blood burned, letting off smoke before it was entirely gone. "It burned away," Luffy said in an unusually small voice. The Whitebeards in the room looked worried. That was the weakest of the booze. What would the reaction to the highest be?

"Everyone, step back a little more," the head doctor said. Those who weren't already at the wall backed up closer to it. He uncapped the second bottle, which made the room smell of it immediately. To be honest, not many drank this one. It was overly strong and mostly used to spike things like coffee or hot chocolate, since so little could do so much.

This one had a much more extreme reaction, and it exploded, melting the plastic on the floor under it. Tami used the fire extinguisher on it. Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Ace put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, who was tense. "Well, just don't go near the alcohol. Or drink it," Ace reassured. Luffy wasn't in a happy mood anymore. He wished he didn't watch the last part. And everyone was regretting letting him watch.

Luffy didn't say anything, just left the room, his brothers hurrying after him. He found his way to the deck and climbed up to the crows nest. Ace and Sabo scrambled after him, up the ratlines after their brother.

-x-

Immediately, everyone got into cleaning the room and taking the objects back to the infirmary. The alcohol was returned to the winery, which Marco had the key to. The rest of the plastic on the walls of the test room was removed, and soon it was back to being an empty storage room. It had been fascinating to watch, but raised more questions than it answered.

"Sons, daughters, I want you to do more research on Luffy's blood. It is a mystery I wish us to solve," the captain said after the room was back to normal and people were starting to leave. The commanders that hadn't been in the room were asking about what happened, which Marco explained in detail.

Whiskey was personally dedicated to learning what the heck Luffy's blood was infused with. More and more possibilities popped into her head, as she did most of the blood work on the ship and off the ship at her old job, but without any proof to back them up, she didn't wish to speculate aloud.

After Marco told the commanders what had happened regarding the alcohol, they each personally searched their own divisions' rooms, along with their own bedrooms, and found all hidden sake and locked it up safely in the winery. It was a huge room with barrels and barrels of booze, shelves of expensive and cheap wine. Beer bottles were in bins in the corner. All of it was locked up, Fossa making a second lock on the door.

While Luffy was there, for however long it was that Pops and Marco wanted to keep them, things had to change on the ship. There was now a curfew for how _early _anyone could drink. After 9 PM, the pirates could drink if they wanted, but before then was restricted only to Whitebard, of course, because he could make that order. No matter how irate it made some of his children. What life would it be if it didn't include alcohol? It wasn't a selling point to his children.

When people started to notice their stashes missing, or the heavily locked door of the winery, questions arose. Many came to Marco to ask why this was happening. Marco usually knew everything, unlike some commanders who might have not known the answer of something if it had happened just recently.

"Commander Marco, why is the booze locked up? And my flask is gone," Perry, one of Marco's division members asked. He sounded accusatory, thinking someone stole his.

Marco explained, "The commanders have each searched our mens' rooms and have confiscated the alcohol. It is not poisoned in any way, but we have changed some things regarding how easy it is to access. At dinner, Pops will announce the new rules regarding the intake of the booze. All types, not just sake."

The only alcohol that didn't count was those in the infirmary that were used for medicinal or cleaning purposes. Marco was honestly very pleased with how well the commanders took the restrictions. Everyone loved drinking on this ship, and the cost of booze was more expensive than food, but they were taking into consideration someone's life on the ship, even if he wasn't officially one of them or welcomed by all. But, they'd never had anyone on the ship that could _die _of alcohol. Just his skin was burned by it, if he drank it? Marco wouldn't think there would be any way to heal inside of the kid if he ingested any.

The man moaned, but didn't complain or protest. After all, he and everyone else trusted the decisions made by the higher ups, especially Pops and Marco. The decision was supported most by the medical department. They already didn't really approve of how much everyone drank themselves under the table, so this was killing two birds with one stone.

Marco eventually went to check on the boys, flying up to where he knew they were. He landed on the side of the crowsnest to see Luffy napping against Ace, looking so young. He also looked sad, even while he slept. Sabo was talking to Ace in a hush, stroking Luffy's hair.

"How is he?" Marco questioned in a quiet voice. Ace looked up and to the side to see Marco, who was looking concerned at the napping boy.

"It scared him. More than he'd ever admit," Ace replied. Marco explained the new restrictions on the alcohol throughout the ship, which the two older boys were thankful for. Marco watched them and wondered how this happened. How these three had come together. How they had been trapped at that place.

He didn't feel he knew them enough to ask, but he couldn't stop himself from doing so. Sitting down on the side of the nest, Marco asked, "How did you meet Luffy?" Sabo shared a look with Ace. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to," Marco was quick to assure. He didn't want to force them to talk or make them uncomfortable.

"No, we'll tell you," Sabo said after he interpreted Ace's expression. "Marines came to our home village and killed everyone we knew. We were hiding in the dumpster. We thought it was over soon before everyone started screaming in agony and dying. Everything was quiet and we thought we were the only ones left until we heard foot steps coming nearer. Luffy, tiny and six years old, opened the dumpster soaked in blood. He decided he wanted us to come with him.

"He's never been able to tell us what made him want to take us with him. We rejected him at first, he tried so hard to have us like him. Tried to play games with us, cried when we wouldn't. Eventually, it didn't take long, we grew attached to him. Outside of his 'work life', Luffy was just a normal, familyless boy. He never one threatened us, he loved us.

"It was hard being stuck there, but we didn't tell Luffy that his life was abnormal. We didn't want to hurt or confuse him. We love him and wanted him to be happy, and he was. He thought his life was perfectly normal. Killing people was normal. We'd never seen his devil fruit, or whatever the hell it is, before you broke us out.

"It's difficult and confusing for him to learn everything he knew was a lie, but he'll be fine as long as he has us," Ace finished. Luffy was still sleeping peacefully. Sabo brushed a strand of hair out of Luffy's face, thinking they were all in need of a hair cut. Ace's curled down the back of his neck in little waves, while Sabo's was more curly. Luffy's hair was the only one that was perfectly straight.

Sabo adjusted his sitting a bit to be more comfortable and asked, "Marco, why are you doing so much for Luffy?"

"I'm doing it for all of you."

"You know what I mean. Why for Luffy after he was the one to take you away from your family? And why are they helping your kidnapper when they know how he's lived? Is it pity? Do you expect to get something out of this?" He had a calm voice, but there was hidden anger. If Marco said the wrong thing, then it would mess everything up, but he would be truthful.

Marco looked up at the cloud splattered sky. He had missed the sun and sky while in that prison. He saw there were no windows inside the kids' old room, and wondered how long it had been since Ace and Sabo were in the sunlight.

"Not pity, more like sympathy and empathy. I'm not going to go in to too much detail, but when I was a kid, I was in an unfortunate situation similar to yours. I was under someone else's control, and not free. I was supposed to kill Pops, even though I was sickly and malnourished. He forgave him and instead adopted me. He didn't hate me or hold it against me because it wasn't my choice.

"I have no doubt Pops wouldn't have disliked me even if it was my choice, but he understood I was following the orders of someone else, like Luffy was. The only difference was that Luffy pulled it off, while I failed. I forgave Luffy for kidnapping me a while ago. Pops forgave him, too, even if he did miss and worry about me," Marco explained, quietly, too, as he didn't want to wake the sleeping child.

The boys were quiet for a few minutes as they digested when Marco had said, but didn't ask for more detail. He didn't ask for them to give him more details, so they wouldn't either. Marco was about to leave before Sabo spoke again.

"What if Luffy _did _eat a devil fruit? What if he _is _connected to demons, or something else. Will people be afraid of him again?" He looked deeply troubled. Marco shrugged a shoulder.

"It's up to Luffy what people think of him. We helped a little bit, but Luffy is the only one who can show who he truly is. And I don't think he is a monster at all. Regardless of his past or powers, we are all children of the sea," Marco said with a warm smile, quoting his father. Both children were left speechless, and Marco flew off of the yardarm he was standing on and headed inside.

He hoped his story had made them feel he could relate to Luffy, because he could, but he also didn't tell them enough. There was no need for them to know how slaves were _usually _treated. Luffy had been quite healthy, as were his brothers, even though they were prisoners and a pawn. Most slaves were starved or beaten or both. Marco had been both, but he wouldn't wish that fate upon anybody. No one deserved to be treated in the way slaves were.

Talking about it hadn't brought back bad memories for once, which was a surprise. Usually, he left from those types of conversations feeling tainted, but he actually felt good bringing that subject up because there was finally a use that had come from that past. To understand these boys and the unique pain Luffy had been in his whole life.


	7. Restriction For Safety

**blueflamegoddess: I love writing Marco. He's such a great guy.**

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**Another chapter! Shorter than the usual ones this time. Those in countries affected seriosuly by coronavirus, good luck and stay safe. Enjoy~**

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Dinner time had the pirates on the ship not very happy. They were allowed no booze with dinner. No alcohol, and they weren't pleased when offered water or juice. But, when they started getting rowdy about the complaints, Whitebeard shut that down very quickly. They already had been told about the restrictions, but apparently hadn't really thought it was serious until no one had anything to drink.

Luffy didn't feel guilty about this. Not at all. Sure, it was too bad the pirates were upset, but he cared about his own life and safety more than he did about the pirates' happiness. Luffy didn't want to die, didn't want to be touched or polluted with alcohol and end up how his blood had. While the whole thing had been more cool than scary, the end of the experiments wasn't a good one.

The three boys didn't make any comment on the irritation throughout the galley. The anger and frustration was almost palpable, and Luffy couldn't see how angry everyone was getting over this drink. When Luffy was giving disbelieving frowns to the bemoaning pirates, Sabo said, in his ear, "Imagine you being denied meat."

Luffy''s eyes widened and he understood, though meat was better and more healthy than alcohol. And meat never hurt anyone, so it wasn't the same. Sabo could see the argument on Luffy's face, and just shook his head in an amused way.

"Well, since we've become off course after our detour to find Marco and the boys, the next island isn't what we were predicting it would be. We've skipped Kulu Island completely, and are heading towards Rikuai Isle," Namur explained, being the navigator. A few of those at the table moaned, clearly not liking the island.

"What's wrong with that island?" Sabo asked curiously.

Jozu replied, "It's full of assholes. Not many people are actually residents of it, some tourists but mostly pirates stopping by to restock. It's plentiful and selling the stuff makes profit, but people would rather not be surrounded by jerks all day, every day."

Izo nodded. "They are quite rude to everyone, even us. Even Marco. No one has manners these days," he complained. Someone belched somewhere near. "Including us apparently," the man said loudly.

"Sorry, Commander Izo!" someone called from another table. Whitebeard started laughing and Luffy chuckled.

"_Anyways,_ we have to restock a lot, so most of us will be off the ship during that time. You boys could come with one of the commanders while they do their jobs and get off the ship," Izo explained. The children exchanged glances, and Luffy looked much less excited than his brothers, making him realize just how worse off it was for them at their old "home". They were stuck in the room and Luffy had never thought twice about it since he didn't like leaving the room.

Ace pat Luffy's back, seeming to know what he was thinking. "Why don't we go with one of the commanders? Might not be a nice place, but it will be new sights. And you won't be on some mission to kill people, Lu," Ace said the last part much quieter. Luffy nodded.

"When should we be arriving?" Whitebeard asked. Many of the crew were listening in, getting the information that they'd be getting anyway. Everyone liked to know what the commanders talked about, thinking they talked about much more interesting things. It really wasn't the truth, more of their conversations were actually much more serious. Though they weren't all sticks in the mud.

"Tomorrow afternoon. Should we dock at the safer part, or the faster part?" Namur questioned. He explained to the boys, "There is a place to dock near the shops, which is easier to load things up, but there are more raids there."

Sabo raised his hand. "Aren't you strong and well known? Why would anyone try and attack this ship?" Who would be that stupid?

"Sabo, honey, there will always be people who are more stupid than someone else is strong. You'd be surprised with how many people attempt to raid or atttck our ship. Your previous master or boss or whatever he was was one of those idiots. He just got further in by successfully getting Marco, but his plan was a failure from the start. Pops is too strong for some chump to kill off," Izo explained patiently. "It's a mark on our dear first-mate's record to get captured and held hostage."

Marco glowered at him, and Luffy felt bad. Marco was nice but he had scared and trapped him. "Don't feel bad, Luffy, it was his fault for not being self-aware," Haruta teased. Marco grumbled but went back to his food.

"That's all nice, but is someone gonna answer my question?" Namur grumbled. "Commanders meeting are much better to announce things at," he said more quietly, and Ace and Sabo could understand why. Everyone was distracted here.

"We'll dock at the safer area since we have guests on our ship, and I'd rather not risk anything happening," Whitebeard said. Dinner was about done, for everyone. It was 7:30 and the boys could practically hear the countdown clock to 9:30 for all of the pirates to get drunk.

Thatch served dessert that was made earlier that day, which was chocolate cake, donuts, and candies. Luffy ate more than anybody expected him to. He snatched donut after donut off of the kitchen counter, and pirates actually got into a tiff, trying to get their own donuts before Sabo dragged Luffy away.

Ace thought it was funny. "Well he is used to getting as much sweets as he wants," the freckled child laughed. Luffy's stomach was full to the brim, and he let out a burp/sigh. After they had their dessert, more pirates than usual stayed inside the galley. The three brothers had left, following Izo since he asked them to. Thatch was working on cleaning up the galley, Marco helping him this time, making things go much faster than usual.

"Luffy, have you always had that mark on your face?" Izo questioned when they entered a room that was off of the one housing all of the clothing materials and necessities. Luffy touched his face and nodded. He didn't remember never having the tattooed mark over his eye. "Well, it attracts a lot of attention, so I was hoping you'd be okay with covering it up when we land at the island tomorrow."

"Okay," Luffy replied. He had almost forgotten about it. When he was out on missions, people thought he was scary because of the "creepy" factor of the mark. He didn't know if he was born with it or not, but he had almost forgotten about it because the pirates didn't stare at him anymore. It was only the second night, but they all seemed to have moved on from it or gotten used to the mark.

Izo sat Luffy down in front of mirrors and got some paint out. At least, it looked like paint to the boys. Izo started mixing shades of it to try and replicate Luffy's skin color by reference. After ten minutes of mixing, he was able to come up with a color that would match Luffy's natural tanned skin.

Sabo and Ace were inspecting the hats on the hall. There were many types, and Sabo liked the top hat one while Ace was trying on a cowboy hat. Luffy watched them from the chair before Izo said that he was free to go for tonight. Ace returned the hat to the wall. The three walked to their room, passing by a very long line of pirates waiting to access the alcohol. The three were shocked by just how much pirates liked booze.

Nobody knew the reason for the restriction, so Luffy didn't get any hate for being the cause of it. The commanders and captain knew everyone would hate the new regime, so decided to not give them the reason why.

The three boys went to the bathroom in the hallway to brush their teeth and change into their pajama outfits. They went back to their room and shut the door behind them, locking it for good measure.

The moment the lights were turned off, Luffy scrunched his eyes up and pursed his lips together. The first sniffle that came out had the bedside lamp turning on. Ace and Sabo looked at him with concerned eyes. "Lu, what's wrong?" Ace asked in concern, sitting up more. He had burrowed under the covers immediately once they laid down.

"I'm sorry I kept you both as prisoners. I didn't know you hated living there," Luffy sniffled in a surprisingly strong voice considering how blotchy and teary his face was. Sabo and Ace both frowned deeply. They had hated it there, but were unable to leave and didn't want to leave their brother in such a heartless place alone.

"No, we didn't like it there. Yes, you were the one to take us. It's hard to explain, but you didn't keep us prisoner there emotionally. It would be different if you had done it to be malicious. You've never told us why you brought us with you, but we don't regret being there. We were living in poverty and everyone was gone already. At least with you, we were alive and kept healthy.

"While we wouldn't want to go back, we don't blame you for not knowing better. You were brainwashed, but still loved us. Let's just move on, and not think of those days. Think of the fun times, but move on. We're all free for forever. There is no going back, there is no use to keep _thinking _back," Sabo tried to explain without hurting Luffy's feelings. It was a difficult topic to breech, which was why they avoided it for so long.

"I love you, I don't want you sad," Luffy whimpered. Ace and Sabo both frowned softly, bringing him into a group hug.

"We love you, too, Lu. But we also want to look towards the future, and of course we'll bring you along with us," Ace responded in a whisper. They didn't want anyone else hearing this very private conversation. Luffy nodded, sniffling still. "Why don't we go to bed and can go on land tomorrow. Maybe there won't be any assholes there this time," the freckled child said in a cheery voice.

"C'mon, bed time before the drunken pirates start singing," Sabo murmured. The three cozied under the blankets, Sabo turning the lamp off. All three of them fell asleep quickly, even though Luffy was still feeling the traces of guilt that his brothers tried to wipe away completely.

The three had a peaceful sleep, despite the racket the pirates caused, finally having their beloved sake unrestricted. Even the captain's booming laugh from various parts of the ship was audible but didn't wake them up. Already, they were getting used to the new life. Maybe temporary, but new regardless.

-x-

Marco watched his dear brothers argue over who got the booze first in disbelief. They honesty hadn't thought of how damn dependent the pirates were on their sake. The commanders besides Thatch also shared the feeling. Watching them bicker was irritating, and Pops wasn't helping by laughing at the whole thing while Marco had to be the mature one.

"This is _not _how grown men act when their alcohol intake is _scheduled. _You are not being deprived completely, only until night time! Like most people!" Marco shouted, irritated with their behavior. And honestly, even if they did know it was all for the safety of Luffy, he was sure they wouldn't care. It was a rude awakening to the behaviour of pirates. Brothers or not, they were pirates.

The captain laughed at his anger, while someone complained that _Pops _got to drink, why couldn't _they? _"Brats, I'm the captain. I can drink if I want. Your dear commanders are all following the order fine. Do you see any of them having a tizzy or throwing a fit about cutting back on the alcohol?" Whitebeard asked. He was right, none of the commanders showed even a trace of the childishness the normal crewmembers were.

"That's why they are the commanders," Teach pointed out with a bark of laughter, eating a cherry pie. Whitebeard laughed as well. "Don't worry commander Marco, we'll get used to it eventually," the man said with a grin.

Marco hoped he was right, or this would be a pain in the ass every single night. As long as Luffy and his brothers were aboard, this curfew or restriction, whatever you want to call it, would be in place. Someone 's life was more important than a tasty drink. Though, the pirates would be offended if anyone called alcohol just a "tasty drink". Clearly, to them, it was a necessary part of life.

The pirates left the winery with the sake like it was the most valuable thing imaginable. That all of the alcohol was the One Piece. Marco was sure they had to rethink this. It wouldn't work this way smoothly, they'd run out of alcohol at this rate. Well, they always ran out, but they'd lose it much faster.

As he did his paperwork after things calmed down, in the back of his mind he was coming up with alternate plans. He was able to multitask well, which was helpful. Focusing only on the paperwork was boring, no matter how important it was and how much he had missed. After everyone went to bed, besides those on watch duty that night, Marco went to the log room and read everything in the log books that he'd missed.

Two pirate raids, no casualties and only minor injuries. But, he felt guilty for not being there to help. He had worried them all so much, he knew they were keeping just _how _much from him. He was the first mate and the only reason the ship hadn't fallen apart was Pops' design of the chain of command. The commanders were all a sort of first mate, only Marco was the highest of them. That's what kept Pops from being completely overwhelmed.

The log said that his health got worse, blood pressure went up and other stress-causing things happened and it made Marco feel sick with himself. Yet, he could not place the blame on Luffy. He had been doing what he was brainwashed to think was right. Maybe if he had been anyone _but _a mentally-damaged child Marco would have put harsher blame upon him, but he _wasn't. _

Besides, Marco honestly had not been very good when he was taken. He had underestimated Luffy, even after how unsettling his appearance had been at first. But even after he transformed and had shown he wasn't there for friendly reasons, Marco was too slow to react. He needed to work on that or at least recognize that he needed to.

Marco felt bad when his brothers, almost all fourteen of the division commanders, walked past his office at least once, getting up from their sleep to make sure he was still there. He missed them a lot, but they must have been much more uncomfortable, not knowing if Marco was alive for _days. _

The first mate knew his fellow commanders would not put the blame on Luffy after learning his background (besides Kingdew, Rayuko and Blenhiem, who still seemed sour about it), but the rest of the crew might still hold it to him.

Like always, his father knew when he was having a hard time, and it didn't take long for his presence to be outside the door before gently knocking. "Come in," he said in a detached voice. He was at his desk, the light on next to him. Pops quietly entered and closed the door behind him and sat down on the couch in the corner. "Do you need something?" Marco asked pleasantly. Even after all these years, he still had trouble asking for help. Especially emotional help.

"Just here to check on my son. Is there a lot of work you have to make up?" Whitebeard asked lightly, like small talk, but it was enough to warm Marco up. Instead of replying to the question, Marco said, "I'm sorry I got kidnapped."

Whiteebard chuckled. "I'd say it would make more sense if you said 'adultnapped'." Marco scoffed out a laugh. "While it was unexpected, everything has worked out."

"It wasn't working out when I was gone. Your health weakened because of my mistake. Everyone was scared, scared that I was hurt, or-or _dead. _No one knew what happened to me! I put everyone at risk. I put my family at risk and no one is upset with me." Whitebeard stayed where he was, Marco breathing harshly.

"Do you see anything in the logs about anyone dying?"

"No, but-"

"Do you see any damage to our ship?"

"No."

"Do I look like I'm on the verge of death, son?" Marco gulped and shook his head. "All is right again, Marco. Many of us have gotten into an embarrassing or dangerous altercation. Most times, they come back as being good things. Remember when Thatch went fishing and somehow got abducted by pirates? And then-"

"Then those pirates became part of our crew," Marco said with a laugh. The were both quiet for a bit. "I'm still sorry, Pops."

"I know. And we all forgive you. Besides, getting adultnapped helped out three unfortunate brats. Everything happens for a reason, clearly," Whitebeard said softly. "And we have learned that our crew has a _humiliating_ weakness."

Marco scoffed. "Alcohol restriction. Should'a known. What father gets all of his sons hooked on alcohol so badly they can't take any change?" he teased, not meaning his words. The captain laughed.

"What father deprives his children of the liquid of life?"

"A sane one," Marco threw back. "Though I am grateful that you've gone along with me on this. I know it's not orthadox for me to do something like this, especially to someone that _should _be an enemy. But he's not. I just want to help them, help Luffy be a person and not a killing machine." He gave a deep sigh but then smiled softly.

"I understand completely, son. And I support your choices and wishes. Though we may need to change things about the restriction of the sake. Your brothers showed their inability to handle such change today," the captain said, sounding both exasperated and amused. "But, I do have an idea about it. It may work, but we will have to see."

"I hope so. The sight tonight was pathetic," Marco replied. His father laughed and agreed.


	8. Display of Power

**Ocii99: :) Marco is always the best.**

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**So I made a wattpad account... I hate the interface. It's so messy and unattractive. It's gonna take forever to post hundreds of chapters of all my stories. -_- Anyways, this chapter has gore in it, and murder. Not much, but it's definitely there. Enjoy~**

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The next morning, all three boys wore shirts with the Whitebeard jolly roger on both the front and backs of their shirts. They didn't have a problem with it, and no one mentioned that they weren't part of the crew and so didn't deserve to wear the mark of their crew. The three would not be venturing off on their own due to safety reasons and to monitor Luffy. Marco would be busy an the boys would hinder him if he needed to supervise them closely. So, they'd be going wit Izo onto the island, more than enough protection if they did as he said. He had administered the paint over Luffy's tattoo, making him much less unsettling. Thatch offered to take them, but knew that he was usually the best one to lead stocking up on food, always knowing what exactly to get and how much of each thing.

Ace and Sabo looked forwards to the visit much more than Luffy did. After all, he had been outside much more than the other two had. It just reminded the youngest about how he made his brothers hate the life they had with him. Though they convinced him they cared for him, he still stole and trapped both of them.

It was noon before the pirates left the ship to take stock or hunt for meat in the dense forest between the Moby Dick and the village they headed to. The one full of assholes. Ace and Sabo knew Luffy would be fine, never captured and never killed, but they weren't strong enough to even protect themselves. They knew that. They had been deprived of practicing or exercising for so long.

But, Izo was with them and they knew the man was strong to be a commander on the ship. And the fact that he was the sixteenth of the commanders didn't mean he was the sixteenth in a line of strongest to weakest. Izo was the leader of the sharp shooting division, who also happened to have been taught much about fixing damaged clothes, some learning to make them out of necessity or curiosity.

Izo kept his senses sharp with the boys, walking with much of the crew before they branched off to do different things. The three boys found the first asshole halfway through the woods, harassing a woman. Sabo and Ace took his hands, silently telling him no to do anything. Luffy had never been one to go out of his way to save other people, only kill. But, neither knew if the new situation made Luffy feel he _had _to be good. Overly good, that is.

They didn't need to worry, as the woman seemed to get too irritated and sliced the man's throat, not giving the pirate and children a second look as she stole everything on the man and wandered away, not a care in the world. Izo didn't blink an eye, though Ace and Sabo were put off by the sight, not that they could blame the woman.

The village wasn't very nice, even at first glance. Graffiti was on almost every wall, and trash was thrown everywhere. There were fights everywhere, but Izo expertly avoided them with no problem. He had the Whitebeard mark on his kimono, just for the added safety of the boys. Sadly, he didn't have a large bounty and his face was now well known like Marco's.

The three boys had whitebeard's marks, too, but many children on their protected islands liked to dress up as commanders or wear the marks, so it wasn't so strange to have children dress up. Even not on their own islands. Some people used the mark for protection in places they knew they would not get in trouble with the real Whitebeard pirates.

Their duty was to get new fabrics and leather. It would be easy since they were all children, and fabrics were light. Even smaller Luffy would be able to carry a nice amount of their bounty. Luffy didn't blink an eye at any of the fights, since he was very used to violence at his own hands. Ace and Sabo hadn't had the best childhoods, and had seen a lot, but they did have the decency to look uneasy or disgusted with the fights or bloody bodies.

Some parts of the town didn't seem to care about removing dead bodies, and the three boys didn't like this island at all. They wished they had stayed on the ship. Ace and Sabo had wanted to see the village, though they now regretted it.

The store they got a nice amount of quality fabrics in was clean and nice. Clearly, it wasn't a place worth stealing or looting from, and the woman at the counter had guns strapped around every limb, along with two swords crossing behind her back.

Izo knew her personally, having stopped at this island before. "Hello, Diana, I hope you are well," Izo greeted politely.

"Izo-san, it's nice to see you! What brings you to our disgusting island?" Diana replied politely. Izo just said they were there to stock up on foods and other necessities. She looked curiously to the boys, but did not ask, knowing better than to butt into others' business, especially pirates, even though the Whitebeards were not necessarily _bad _pirates. At least, not to any civilians.

The three boys carried the fabrics in large plastic bags, while Izo carried the leather, which was much heavier. They witnessed more fights, robberies, and vandalization as they walked through the town. They were heading back a way they hadn't come in. Izo said this part of town didn't usually have many brawls and wasn't anywhere near any bars.

Luffy was quiet while his brothers were also or when they talked. Izo explained things about the town, while Luffy was keeping track of everyone around them. He would never let anything or anyone hurt Ace and Sabo. His eyes were blank as they darted around. A few people recoiled from his empty gaze he didn't wear so much anymore, but most didn't pay any attention to him.

There were many people on the island with face tattoos, so maybe his covered mark wouldn't have meant anything to them. Most of the tattoos on the other mens' faces looked like tear drops under their eyes. Distantly, Luffy thought it was a weird choice to get. He didn't remember getting this tattoo, and thought it might have been a birthmark; a strange one.

After stopping in an ice cream shop, the four continued their walk and were soon back in the forest, though not on one of the usual paths. They heard laughs around them, but Izo could tell they were his brothers' having fun hunting, since the forest was populated heavily by all sorts of animals.

It was quiet for awhile before Izo stopped them, putting his hand out in front of the boys to stop walking. Luffy had already stopped. They all turned around to see multiple big men, some cracking knuckles and others holding weapons. Luffy growled lowly, though it didn't frighten anyone but put his brothers on edge.

Sabo touched his shoulder, but Luffy paid no attention to it, ready to defend his brothers. "Looks like we found a fag." Izo took the insult with an exasperated sigh.

"You're seriously going to antagonize Whitebeard pirates?" Izo asked in a bored tone, not making any move to get out his gun. Any of them. He mostly looked impatient.

"I only see one pirate. Not a very strong one. Those three are children, easy to kill. Like taking candy from babies," the man said.

Luffy moved faster than anyone realized and blood sprayed across the ground as his black and hardened substance sliced though his abdomen. He was in full zoan form, since that was the easiest way to explain it. No sound came from him, but the men started shooting. Nothing happened, the bullets were absorbed. He made sure not to let them go through his brothers, who were watching in horror.

Even if they were scared of him, Luffy would never let anything happen to them. He sliced off the head of the nearest man, absorbing the second one who tried to attack him with his spiked club. Luffy crushed him inside and expelled the mutilated remains. It was quick, and soon they were all dead; mangled, crushed, or sliced into pieces. Luffy didn't care.

When he smoothly reformed into his small, human form, he was absolutely drenched in blood. It had been hard to see when he was the black mass, but he was soaked in the thick red liquid. He turned around slowly, hesitantly, to see the other three gaping at him. He had been very careful to not get anyone else covered in blood. The fabrics were still spotless, Luffy having dropped his bag when he attacked.

He walked back to the group, wiping blood out of his eyes. His clothes were ruined. Izo just stared at him, some sweat on his face. When the boy reached down to pick up the bag, Izo offered to carry it for him.

Ace and Sabo were looking at him in horror, but not because they were afraid of him. It was scary, seeing him covered in blood, much scarier now than it had been when they met. After all, it could be Luffy's blood and they didn't see any wounds.

"Boys, we're taking a detour," Izo announced, and lead the three away and to a lake. "Luffy, why don't you wash the blood off," the man said lightly. He was either faking it or wasn't bothered. Luffy assumed faking it.

"We'll help," Sabo said in a surprisingly strong voice. Despite the negative reaction to Luffy's actions, those men _did _threaten to kill them. Luffy didn't kill them for fun, but for protection. Preemptive self-defense. Luffy was pulled out of his bloody clothing except for his monkey patterned underwear, which had no blood on them, and walked into the water. Their tub back at the base had been shallow, so it only made it to Luffy's waist when he sat down. It annoyed Ace and Sabo with how shallow it was when one of them tried to bathe, but luckily there was a separate shower.

The second Luffy got deeper than his waist, he became limp and lethargic. It surprised everyone, since Luffy wasn't supposed to have eaten a devil fruit, but Ace was quick to grab him before he sunk like a rock. Since he was so limp, Ace and Sabo were the ones who did most of the washing, gently pouring water over and rubbing the blood away from Luffy's skin and hair.

Izo soaked Luffy's clothes in the water, though he'd go back to the ship wet. It was lucky this island was a summer one or Luffy might be in danger of hypothermia. After Luffy's body and hair were clean of blood, Sabo and Ace helped him out of the little lake and the four ventured back to the ship, wondering if anyone would come upon the massacre sight, and how the pirates would react one they knew what had happened. On the way, Luffy fell asleep for some reason, and Ace carried him.

-x-

When Luffy appeared back on the ship with stark red clothing and shoes, most of the pirates were confused as to why his previously yellow and blue clothes were now a deep shade of red. Then it dawned on everyone what it must be, but no one commented. Izo was acting normal, so nothing too bad must have happened.

Only the commanders noticed that his face was slightly pinched. Luffy looked a little sleepy, like he'd been napping. Sabo ended up picking him up when they walked up the plank. He was practically limp in Sabo's arms, eyes dazed. The commanders worry about what happened, assuming all of the red was blood and Luffy was looked overly exhausted.

Ace and Sabo head to their bedroom, ignoring pirates asking them what happened. They walked straight to their room and shut the door, locking it. Marco had followed them a bit but stopped after they ignored his questioning. He tried not to take it personally and then headed straight for Izo, who had his arms crossed, bringing all of the bags of clothes to the correct location. The four had gotten the job done, but something clearly happened while they were gone.

Izo called a commanders' meeting, and those aboard followed immediately, Pops getting up from his seat with a sigh. There sure were a lot of meeting with the kids here. But, it might be something important, more important than him relaxing. They also had something else to talk about, so now would be a good time to address it.

Haruta, Kingdew, and Blenheim hadn't come back yet, but Izo said it was urgent. They'd fill those three in once they came back or knocked on the double doors to announce they were back. Izo spoke the moment everyone was situated in their chairs.

"In case you're all wondering, Luffy's clothes were red because they were soaked in blood. And he was exhausted due to his devil fruit." When someone started to point out he wasn't _supposed _to have a devil fruit, based on previous information, Izo held a hand up. "I will explain everything." Everyone grew silent, Pops giving him the go-ahead to start the meeting.

"Everyone knows this place is chock-full of assholes, and we saw quite the fill in town. Luffy looked on edge, but acted normal, enjoyed the ice cream we stopped at, didn't cause any trouble. Even when we came across a guy harassing a woman, Luffy did nothing. She killed the guy, but nothing came of that.

"It was when a group of burly assholes came up and started talking shit. The moment they threatened the boys, Luffy killed them all. I don't mean he just cut them up or chopped their heads off to kill them. He _mutilated them. _I mean, he was in that scary black form, but it was highly disturbing. And he positioned himself so no blood got on any of us.

"And Marco, you are lucky he was sent to abduct you and not kill you. Apparently, he can crush whatever he absorbs and then spit out the remains." Marco's face went white, wondering if he would have died if Luffy did that to him.

"And I do think whatever he ate was a devil fruit of some sort. We went to wash him off and he got lethargic in the water, like how our devil fruit users do. But it lasted the entire way back, sleeping and then barely able to stand and having to be carried to his room by Ace." The room was quiet as they all thought about the information they'd been given.

Luffy was a mystery that was slowly enfolding. Well, actually quite quickly, considering he'd only been there a couple days. But Amy had specifically said Luffy hadn't eaten a devil fruit, and she'd never been wrong before. They had Whiskey still studying his blood on the side of her usual duties, but nothing new had come to light.

They also shuddered at the thought of what could have happened to Marco when he was absorbed into Luffy's monster body. His ability was disturbing, and powerful. None of the fruit users on the crew could call their powers disturbing. Pops' powerful, to the extreme, but Marco and Jozu's powers were quite beautiful.

Luffy's was this disgusting and dark malformation that had too many tricks for anyone else's good. At least he showed he could protect himself, and his brothers. It got Marco to thinking the two older ones must not enjoy being protected by their younger brother. Maybe they'd teach them some basic self-defense while they were there, for however long that was going to be.

The captain finally spoke, saying, "Well, it doesn't change much but reawaken mystery over his powers. He reacts to water but not sea stone… quite abnormal. But he didn't hurt anyone on our side while you were out. And he can clearly control himself if he hadn't reacted to any of the violence around before his brothers were threatened. Plus, he didn't lash out at Izo while he was in monster form, if that's what we're going to call it."

Izo shook his head. "He didn't come across threatening to me or the boys. He was in complete control and even angled his attacks so none of the blood sprayed on us," he commented. Marco was glad nothing bad had happened that made anyone want the boys to leave. Well, _Luffy _to leave. The other two were both polite and well-mannered. Not frightening in any way.

Jozu crossed his arms. "So do you think he's only merciless when he's ordered to be? After all, attacking the men who threatened you was to protect someone."

"Well, he at least proved he had control of himself when being violent. And he's not emotionally unstable like we thought at first," Vista pointed out. "It doesn't change the fact that his powers themselves are terrifying, if not only by presentation. Maybe he just did his job back at that place." Halfway through his sentence, there was a knock on the door and Namur let the other three commanders in, filling them in quietly.

When Namur sat back down, he responded to Vista with, "Then why did he kill anyone he got mad at? That's not doing his job." He still didn't like the kid. He gave off a bad feeling to the fishman. Granted, many on the crew had given him that feeling at first but they grew to be his brothers. So, it wasn't something that everyone on the crew trusted as being a way to determine bad people from good people. Or what their conceived notions of those were.

"Simple: he was never told not to," Thatch said. "From what we know, Luffy never even knew killing was necessarily bad. By what Izo said, then he killed the men almost immediately. Maybe on his missions, he didn't leave anyone alive long enough to make it seem like him killing them was bad."

It left the pirates to think. It was reminiscent of the way the marines worked, but only for a young child. Marines followed orders, no matter how heinous or whether they wanted to do such things or not. Whitebeard knew of plenty of seasoned, high ranking marines that did not agree with the World Government but did the duties given to them.

The big difference was that they were adults, and knew that some of the things they did were questionable at best. Luffy was a child and was raised to be that way. It had the commanders conflicted. A difficult situation to grapple and not have anyone hurt, including the source of the problem.

"So, what should we do?" Haruta wondered, laying his upper body on the table in not such a respectful manner.

"Keep housing them. It's not like we can kick him off for protecting his brothers," Whitebeard said. "I'd do anything for the safety of my family. Just as he did. If he had attacked Izo while in monster form, things would be much more different. But he didn't. I have grown more and more curious about the source of his abilities, though."

Jozu sighed, "Amy will be pissed if she ends up being wrong in her diagnosis." The woman would see it as a stain on her record. Luffy sure was an enigma.

"Well, things will unfold eventually. Our dear nurses are adept at their jobs, but this is a different matter. Speaking of different matters, we have another issue to discuss. Your brothers and their inability to be restricted when it comes to alcohol. Last night was atrocious, and I have to say I was briefly embarrassed for them." Haruta and Thatch burst into laughter. It was indeed pathetic the night before.

"What were you thinking?" Marco questioned.

"Instead of restricting the _time _they can drink, we can restrict _where _they can drink. If we set aside certain locations, Luffy won't come into contact with them. This was a better plan we should have come up with in the first place," the captain replied. Much of the table slapped their foreheads. It was a simple solution and they felt stupid for not coming up with it _easily. _

"We can use the lounge and maybe a secluded part of the deck that will be off limits to Luffy. And we will be very strict about not drinking anywhere else," Marco suggested. Whitebeard nodded in agreement.

"I think that's the best course of action because, personally, I never want to have a mess like last night happen again," Jozu said, making Haruta chuckle. "It was pathetic. It caused more distress than a full on marine raid."

"I'll drink to that," Rayuko replied.

"Wait, does this mean you can't drink anywhere you want, Pops?" Thatch asked. When Whitebeard frowned, Thatch grinned. "Don't you want to set a good example for your sons?"

"Don't test me, brat. You're a thousand years too young to try and restrict my drinking habits." The table laughed, ending the meeting on a positive note. Marco decided to check on the boys, ask how they felt about the day so far.

When he arrived at their room, the door closed and locked, he heard worried whispers by both Ace and Sabo. Marco knocked on the door gently. "It's Marco," he said. Ace walked to the door and unlocked it, opening it a crack to see Marco standing there, asking to come in. Ace walked aside, letting the door open wide enough for Marco to enter. Only the bedside light was on, and he saw Luffy sleeping.

Both boys looked nervous. "What's wrong?" Marco asked in concern. Sabo looked to the bed and said, "He's never been like this."

"Sleepy?" Marco questioned, since all Luffy was doing was sleeping. Sabo nodded, but then explained, "It's after he went in the water. He's never done this after a bath. He was so out of it on our way back to the ship." They both were very frightened, and Marco felt for them.

"Was this bathtub very shallow?" When they nodded, Marco said, "If he does have some sort of devil fruit, then it makes sense that he's sleepy. I've heard that children who eat devil fruits are affected much more by water. It doesn't help that we know very little about his powers or how they affect him. Would you like to take him to the infirmary? To be safe?"

Sabo and Ace exchanged a glance before both looking back at their dozing brother. Marco thought they were very protective when they nodded, and Ace woke Luffy up and brought him to the infirmary, Marco leading them there and glancing back at Luffy multiple times. He was staggering around like a drunk, but kept yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Tami, Ace and Sabo would like you do to a check up on Luffy here," Marco explained. He lifted said boy onto the hospital bed, and Luffy smacked his lips tiredly, looking at the wall with a sleepy expression before falling over on the bed and going to sleep.

"What happened?" she asked, immediately taking a sleeping Luffy's temperature. He was normal on that, and his pupils reacted normally.

"When we went in the water, he fell asleep and won't wake up. But he's not supposed to have a devil fruit," Ace supplied, worry thick in his voice. Marco knew neither were angry or put off with Luffy's protection if they were so glued to him and concerned.

Suddenly, Whiskey was there, not too gently moving Tami aside to take the flashlight from her. She shined it in Luffy's eyes, and scowled, worrying both boys, but all it was was suspicion. "We don't know he hasn't eaten a devil fruit yet. I'm still doing bloodwork, so we don't know yet. Amy could be wrong."

"_WHAT?!" _they heard Amy shout from across the room. Whiskey sighed and rolled her eyes. "Everyone makes errors, Amy." A huff was followed but no reply. "Anyways, Luffy's pupils are reacting slowly, which is common with devil fruit users who had just been in the water. Whatever gave him these powers, I think the water might have affected him. Otherwise, he's completely fine. No temperature, no clamminess, just tired."

When the boys left, Luffy more awake than he had been but not by much, Marco watched Whiskey ball her fists and wear an angry scowl. "Whiskey?" Marco asked hesitantly, wondering if there really was something wrong with Luffy and Whiskey was just trying to make it easier on the brothers.

"I'm irritated, Marco. I'm irritated that Luffy's blood is uncooperative, irritated it's not giving me any answers. I've never wanted an answer so much and it makes me so angry I'm _itching," _the head nurse hissed. Marco knew better than to say anything. He may be the second most powerful pirate on the ship but Whiskey was the head nurse, practically equally as important as the first mate. And he didn't like when Whiskey was upset, which she was. He wasn't going to make it worse.

"Do you need anything, for helping to determine where his powers have come from? Something I can do?" Marco offered when she started heading back to the office.

"A logia fruit would be helpful, since I have the blood of a zoan and two paramecias. Maybe if I had a logia I could compare the blood samples. I don't know what I need, just something I haven't tried yet. I'll let you know if I learn anything new." And she walked away, slamming the office door behind her.

Marco sighed and left the infirmary. It was going to be dinner time soon, and thank _god _they weren't going to suffer through the same debacle of the previous night. They'd announce the new and improved "Keep Luffy Alive" plan. It was a frightening thought, how sloppy some of the crew got when they were drunk, and the fact that Luffy was severely allergic to alcohol. What a terrible mix: someone allergic to alcohol on a _pirate_ ship.

When dinner came, Luffy was perfectly awake, his sleepy episode clearly over and done with, at least for now. The man wondered how long it ended up taking for it to pass. Word had spread by one commander about what had happened and why Luffy had been covered in blood. At least, why his clothes had been.

Not everyone was glaring at him, or looking at him suspiciously. After all, they weren't innocent from killing people either. Luckily, nothing about the nature of Luffy's killing had slipped out. Marco was sure they wouldn't find out who had let anything slip. Maybe it was an accident, maybe not. Usually, information didn't slip out. Probably someone asked what had happened to Luffy's clothes and a commander had replied.

Luffy ate at a faster pace, shoving food into his mouth like he'd been deprived of it for weeks. His brothers didn't stop him, or tell him to slow down even once. They just raced to get their own food before Luffy ate it all. Even though they were using their own plates that they'd filled themselves, nothing was off limit to Luffy apparently.

"How are you feeling now, Luffy?" Whitebeard asked, turning away from his finished conversation with Rayuko.

"Not so sleepy anymore. That was weird, I've never had that happen before," the eight year old said thoughtfully, though he didn't sound particularly bothered. He stuffed a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. Thatch clearly wondered if he knew what he was eating, or was just shoving what was nearest into his mouth. It astounded everyone how much he and Ace ate, and why Sabo didn't share their eating habits.

Dessert was strawberry shortcakes with fresh strawberries from the market the pirates went to. Despite was a shithole this island was regarding the people that visited, they had good food. The only real upside to the island, and everyone knew it.

The three boys headed out of the galley before everyone else to take a bath, since Luffy still had blood crusted to his scalp and had only bathed in dirty lake water. They'd waited for a long time while he was so exhausted.

Once they were gone, the announcement about the alcohol was made, and everyone liked this option much more than the previous. Whitebeard threw out a jab at their maturity the night before, and how it was frankly embarrassing. Some looked embarrassed themselves while others chuckled awkwardly. Being scolded by Whitebeard was never pleasant, but this was more lighthearted than most scoldings.

"If anyone breaks the new rules and removes any alcohol from the designated areas, cleaning duty for three weeks." It was a heavy punishment, but this was a serious matter, even if most of the pirates didn't know the reason for the restrictions. They were satisfied with being able to drink whenever.

"Pops, what about parties on deck?" Ryan asked, one of the division members under Namur.

"Parties will be the exception, though we will be mindful with not spilling any and being responsible with the bottles and kegs," the captain replied. After that, Marco and Blenheim set up the rack out on the designated area on the deck where alcohol would be put every day and removed every night by anyone on watch.

The rack was very large and bolted to the deck. It should work fine, since it was sturdy and could be locked and closed during a storm or heavy waves. It was the New World, they had to take precautions. The drinking was enthusiastic for everyone, much better than the previous night had been.

Whitebeard drank himself, but it wasn't anything new for him since he made an exception for himself. Everyone trusted him to not spill on Luffy or be careless with his alcohol, so no one worried about him causing any problems.

The lounge was full of pirates, and it was good that it was quite large. They would need to do something about the room's heat. It was the hottest part of the ship for some reason. Maybe they could stop at an island and get some portholes added that could open to cool the room. The might work. It was not a room that was under water so no water would really get in unless they were in tumultuous waves.

The room was loud and full of happy pirates, who were glad they didn't need to wait until night time to drink. Marco shook his head at it. He himself liked sake, but his brothers were just ridiculous. He and Izo supervised the pirates, reminding them to not take the sake outside of the room. Kingdew was out on deck, making sure those outside were responsible and followed the new rules.

The brothers didn't make an appearance in either one of the designated drinking destinations. They stayed in their room, which Marco checked once he switched places with Thatch. Izo was bored, but was still on duty when he left.

All three children were asleep, his haki told him. It had been a taxing day, from the exploration on the island and the situation that caused Luffy to use his abilities in a terrifying way. Marco couldn't help but shiver about what could have happened to him when he was trapped in Luffy's monster form's body. Crushed and then spit out.

Part of Marco wanted to get off the ship and see what was left, but it was too late and he didn't wish to be disturbed by Luffy. He knew enough to know it was gruesome, he didn't need to see it in person. But, he was impressed that Izo seemed to not be much affected by the scene. Sure, the pirates killed many times, not really caring about slaying marines and enemy pirates, but rarely were any of them overly gruesome. They didn't mutilate bodies. Teach sometimes shot the bodies once they were dead, but it wasn't that big of a deal. A little unsettling, but the man was trustworthy and no one worried that he'd turn on them.


	9. Surprises All Around

**blueflamegoddess: I enjoy writing those four most since they're the most human looking and Ace's size. most everyone else it big and not more normal looking, lol. Plus they look younger than others to me even if Marco is in his forties.**

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**Is anyone surprised I posted another story? It's a fix-it one for Marineford where people come back to life all over the world after the time skip and the Whitebeards set out to rebuild their family and make things right. Anyways, there's more information about Luffy's powers, but still not too clear, in this chapter. And a surprise with Ace. Enjoy~**

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The next day, Luffy spent much of it on deck, enjoying the sun. He never really got to relax outside on his missions. He never cared to, only fulfilling his orders. Ace and Sabo napped on deck, arms behind their heads while laying on a picnic blanket. Luffy was drawing on the papers Izo had given him, little objects laying on the corners so the breeze didn't blow the sheets away. He wasn't the best artist, but it was a nice enough thing to do to pass time.

Pirates bustled around them, doing their jobs while avoiding stepping on the three boys or their blanket. A few times, Thatch came over and brought them drinks since it was hot outside. He didn't linger long, but Luffy thanked him each time. When he gave him a toothy smile after tasting an ice cream drink, Thatch grinned back.

Luffy heard him talking about how cute he was on his way back inside. He took as neither a compliment or an insult. He felt a bit lonely with Ace and Sabo both not able to talk, but Luffy couldn't fall asleep in front of strangers, which most of the crew were. He only really knew Thatch, Whitebeard and Marco. Haruta was nice, but they were it. No one was mean to him anymore, sometimes looking wary, but not mean.

But he didn't feel he belonged. He couldn't think of anywhere he would belong. Well, with Ace and Sabo. He just didn't know where. The people here were good people, he thought. They were nice to each other, but Luffy had been nice to Ace and Sabo and had been a bad person. Bad, maybe not evil like Whitebeard said, but bad.

Killing was bad. But sometimes you had to do it. Thats what he felt. Killing for no real reason, like he'd done so many times, was not good. He wished he knew sooner, but no one ever told him. They lied to him, told him it was fine, nothing to feel guilty for. He didn't feel guilty, cause he now knew all of the people he'd killed for stupid reasons were bad.

Never getting told the reason Luffy killed masses of people, he did what he was instructed. He didn't know why he killed who he killed on those missions, and hadn't cared much, that was what his life was after all. Following directions and then having fun with his brothers. His _trapped _brothers.

The boy dawned an angry face, looking down at his hands, which would never be clean of blood, even if he never used them to kill directly. Looking up at the expansive ocean, he wondered if there were others like him out there. Probably not, his situation was unique, but he did wonder.

Eventually, Ace and Sabo woke up, yawning and feel happy and well-rested. Luffy had stopped coloring once he had gotten lost in his own depressing thoughts. The moment his brothers sat up, he lost the look, and hugged them. They were a bit surprised but returned the hug.

"You okay?" Sabo asked. Luffy nodded.

"Was just thinking," he mumbled. They didn't need to ask to know they weren't good thoughts.

"No thinking about the past," Ace instructed. Luffy nodded, though he wouldn't be able to not think about the past, which was all he had to remember. Not able to look forward to anything, really. He didn't know anything about the outside world much, outside of his jobs and his time at the facility. It wasn't a home, as Sabo had stressed to him. It was a prison place to hold all three of them hostage from a better, freer life.

They were at the opposite end of the ship where the booze was allowed, so it didn't risk bothering Luffy easily. Marco had told them not to go over there, and none fo them had argued. For Luffy's safety, they didn't mind being banned from certain areas of the ship. After all, they had free reign to almost everywhere else, able to explore if they wished.

It was after lunch that someone shouted a marine ship was coming up quickly to the ship. Marco ushered the boys inside, but somehow the marines had gotten there in record time, and the pirates saw they had paddle wheels on the ship to make them faster. Too far from the entrance to the ship, Marco told the boys to hide under Whitebeard's chair, small enough to do so. They crawled underneath it as pirates fought marines.

Ace and Sabo were nervous, scared, but Luffy was used to marines and killed countless of them for years. They were usually not very good fighters, easy to kill. When the pirates fought, they laughed and shouted, having fun and enjoying the fight. Luffy inched closer to the edge of the chair to watch everyone fight in interest. He was itching to fight to, wanting to feel useful. But, they didn't need any help, and pummeled the marines until their leader came aboard. Luffy then noticed that these marines looked different than the usual ones. They were dressed more like thugs Luffy saw on that previous island. Some wore buckets on their heads.

The leader had a thick pole, and two cigares sticking out of his mouth. Luffy wondered if he had to bite down on them all the time. A woman appeared, too, holding a sword. She was clumsy, not very good, but held her own against the weaker pirates.

Whitebeard eventually joined the fight, having fun against Smoker, as the boys heard his name. Both Ace and Sabo had crawled to watch as well. Some pirates got injured by the captain, but most were fine. These marines were weak but unorthodox, fighting dirty.

The lone woman saw the kids peeking their faces out to watch, and grew angry. "I didn't think the Whitebeards were so shameful to kidnap children!" she shouted furiously. Ace and Sabo shuffled back deeper under the chair, Luffy not wishing to lose sight of the fight. Sabo pulled at his foot to get him to come back.

"Don't you touch them!" Thatch shouted, taking up arms against the woman who had started to run to the captain's chair to take the children. Luffy looked younger and weaker than he really was, so it made sense to others that they would think the boy was helpless. Thatch attacked the woman ruthlessly, making her have to block instead of swing back. Thatch was strong, which Luffy honestly wasn't expecting. He was usually so nice.

But, he guessed you could be very kind but also strong. He just hadn't come across anyone like that before. Someone came up from behind the chair, one of the ones with a bucket on their head and reached under and grabbed Luffy by the neck of his shirt to drag him out. Luffy didn't hesitate to change his arm and coat it in the black substance, crushing his hand and forearm before releasing the bloody mess of mangled skin and muscle and broken bone.

The man screamed and the deck went silent for just a moment before the fights started again. The marines were getting their butts kicked, and then thrown over the side of the ship to drown or be helpless. The leader looked at Luffy's angry face in anger. Luffy had just mutilated one of the man's subordinates after all. Though, Luffy had never come across a marine captain that cared about his underlings.

Sabo dragged Luffy back deeper, and he didn't fight it this time. No one could reach them under the chair, under the middle of it. No one but them would be able to crawl under, they were just small enough to fit, and it was a snug fit.

All the three could see now were feet running about, and bodies falling to the deck. Only a handful of them were the pirates. Mostly the bucket-headed marines. The leader shouted in pain after the boys heard a splintering crack that shook the air. A splash was made.

"You will never take these boys from us, marine scum," Marco's voice said in a threatening voice.

"Why do you have them?!" the woman shouted, despite Luffy decimating one of her co-worker's arms. "Why would pirates have children with them?!"

"Quiet frankly, miss, that is none of your business," Thatch's voice said coldly before the woman screamed and there was a splash. The fighting noises died down, and the boys could hear shouts of names form the water. They all crawled closer to the edge to see the fight was over. They watched as Marco flew to the navy ship, ripping apart the sails with his talons in full phoenix form, and kicking the paddles hard enough to splinter them into pieces.

"You can come out now, boys," Whitebeard's deep voice said. They three kids crawled out from under the chair, covered in dust. There was blood on the deck, much of it from where Luffy crushed that guy's hand.

Marco and Thatch were visibly angry from the marines trying to take the kids, even grabbing Luffy. Good thing Luffy was able to fight back. The two men took deep breaths to calm down, Thatch sheathing his swords back on his waist. The dead or unconscious marines had all been thrown over the side of the ship already, and the three brothers turned to see the stranded marine ship getting smaller as they sailed away from it.

"Thanks for not joining the fight, Luffy. It would have complicated things if you were fully spotted," Marco said with a smile. Luffy nodded, and asked why those marines looked different than the usuals he killed. A few people shuddered, but most didn't mind. After all, they killed marines as well.

"Those are the trash of the marines, as the higher ups like to say. Criminal-like fools that decided they wished to be marines. They act like pirates but no one adresses that. The leader was Smoker. A logia, not that we can't handle them easily. Don't know who the woman was," Thatch said sourly.

Ace and Sabo were frowning at the deck, looking irritated and embarrassed. Marco noticed, and asked, "Would you two like us to train you to be able to fight while on the ship?" Ace and Sabo's headed snapped up as they made eye contact with Marco, who was looking genuine. They were ashamed they had to hide, and even if they had been hiding like Luffy and had been grabbed, they might not have been able to break away.

"Yes, please," both older boys said at the same time, immediately.

"Why didn't you kill them?" Luffy asked suddenly, confused as to why the pirates didn't finish the job. "They were enemies and attacked first," he pointed out.

"We prefer to humiliate marines that are not a real threat over killing them," Izo explained as he walked nearer. "Crushing their pride is more satisfying than killing them, to be honest." The other pirates on deck that were not injured nodded in agreement.

One of the regular pirates, not a commander, laughed out, "And what fun would it be to kill off the strong ones, the only ones that can stand a fight with New World pirates like ourselves?" The man was big and hairy, broken teeth. Luffy felt like he must smell bad, though he was too far to be able to tell.

"Hear hear!" a few pirates shouted.

Thatch and Marco had calmed themselves down, and the captain sat on his massive chair, the boys' good hiding place. Marco turned to Luffy, who still looked a bit confused as to why they hadn't offed the marines when they had the choice. "Luffy, who taught you to use your powers?" he asked curiously.

"I learned by myself," Luffy replied, Ace and Sabo's faces darkening, making the pirates realize there was more to that answer than they knew.

"How?"

"They locked me in a room and didn't feed me until I was able to use them," he replied simply. Thatch and Izo's face fell into pity, while Marco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So they made you learn through reward and punishment?" Luffy nodded.

"It's okay, I eventually killed those guys," Luffy said in a calm voice. Thatch looked pleased that those people were dead. He then asked how old Luffy was when he was forced to learn his powers. "Four, I think. A long time before meeting Ace and Sabo."

"He was already incredibly strong when he found us," Ace supplied, Sabo nodding in agreement. Deciding to share the story that would make Luffy seem better, since pirates hated marines, Ace said, "He found us on a mission to off a couple ship's worth of marines. We were hiding in a dumpster when he came across us."

Haruta had come over, and was sitting cross legged on the deck by the captain's chair. "How did he know how to find you?" he asked curiously. Luffy shrugged.

"Just knew." The others didn't think it was haki, as Luffy had shown no signs of using it, sometimes running into people he should have been able to sense around the corner if he had haki. There was also the trouble of him _not _having a zoan fruit. Supposedly, though that was now up in the air again.

Luffy was such a mystery, and even though he'd been with them only a few days, it felt like forever while not knowing much about his powers or origin.

-x-

Marco was seething on his way to his office, hating what he'd learned about Luffy. What sick person locks and starves a four year old until he masters some power that he didn't understand? Marco had never heard of a child that young being a fruit user. It was sickening. He knew there was a girl with Doflamingo, a higher up, that ate her fruit when she was a child, but an older one. Not barely out of toddlerhood.

He also wanted to know _why Luffy. _Why him? And why someone so young? Was it so they could mold him into their weapon from a young age? It made him so angry that his shoulders were flaming with feathers while the rest of him was in full human form. He wanted to go blow off some steam by flying, but he had a report to write about the battle. And to write more notes on Luffy now that he learned some more information.

He knew they could just _ask _for the information, but it was unanimous that it was not right to ask him such things when only knowing him less than a week. He'd be there for awhile, considering the next island was weeks away. And he might tell them if they asked, but no one wanted to risk losing his trust if he thought they were prying.

They also had a feeling Ace and Sabo would limit what information they gave out on their brother. Sure, they told Marco some stuff that he didn't share with anyone but Pops, but it had been short. And not too damning on Luffy. Maybe more information would make the crew uneasy with the youngest again.

He went into the office to write up the report, wondering why they were attacked now. Was it a coincidence? Did the marines know about Marco having been missing? Haruta had said nothing about any marine ships tailing them, which was good, but he hd a feeling there was a reason _now. _

Though, if Luffy was telling the truth (which he probably was), then the kid had killed masses of marines, maybe he was wanted and someone reported him? Though the pirates had never seen a wanted poster of him. It would be easy to remember seeing one of a child. But the man couldn't feel sorry for any marines he slaughtered. They'd done it many times, as well. Despite what they said, the pirates killed marines quite often.

The only real reason they didn't kill of Smoker when they could have was that he was a fun one to fight, being a skilled logia and all. They didn't want to snuff out potential for a fun fight. And he hadn't attacked them even on the ship. Only when they were on certain islands back in the Grand Line. None of them even knew the captain had made it to the New World in the first place.

As he wrote up the report, which wasn't too long, Marco lamented not finding paperwork and information at the base when he could. But, there had been no reason to at the time. He had not known they would grow fond of the boys. He thought that Luffy had eaten a devil fruit, even if he didn't believe it was man made.

He hoped Whiskey found something soon, the curiosity was irritating him. Every time he saw Luffy use his power, or heard about it, it made him more and more impatient. He could sympathize with the head nurse's description of being itchy.

-x-

The next day, Luffy watched as Marco trained with Ace and Sabo, teaching them basic moves. Ace was doing better than Sabo, though the blonde wasn't doing badly. Luffy was a bit bored, wishing he could play, too. When he was little, he was told practicing his powers was playing. Not training, but a different type of play besides his toys.

After awhile, Thatch brought out some snacks for Luffy and a nice fizzy drink. He didn't stay long, as he was working on lunch, but he did give Luffy a puzzle to try and distract him while his brothers were occupied. Luffy thanked him and did the puzzle, though it was a bit boring to do on his own. The pirates were all busy, though, preparing to go through sea king infested waters.

Sea kings didn't generally attack the ship, Marco had assured the boys, but it was dangerous nonetheless and they were to stay inside the entire time. The three weren't looking forward to being cooped up again, but they didn't want to risk falling into the water and being eaten alive by sea kings.

Having never seen them before, the first time there was a sighting of one, Ace and Sabo had been shocked. Luffy had seen them before, had killed them. It was part of his "playing" to hunt dangerous animals, no matter if he risked getting hurt. It was before they knew that it was hard for him to be injured. Before they knew about the alcohol.

So, after lunch, everyone left the galley right away to prepare, the boys instructed to stay inside. Whitebeard was kind and understanding with their unease at being cooped up, and offered to let them hang out in his captain's quarters since it had large windows instead of tiny portholes.

Much of the pirates had been shocked of the offer, since it was only Marco that went in and out of there, but the man said it was to help the boys. It was also a show of trust, which made the three feel better. Whitebeard trusted them to not break anything in there. It felt good to have that trust, even if it was something simple. They had no reason to break anything, after all.

When the three were introduced to Whitebeard's room by Marco, they were in awe at how _massive _the bed was. It could fit half of their old "bedroom" on it. But the three didn't dare touch it, not wanting to touch anything. There was a large couch in the corner by the windows that Marco said they were welcome to sit on. It was cloudy outside, sky swirling. Marco said it was normal in this area, so not to worry.

"Are the windows thick? Could they break?" Sabo asked in worry, seeing the huge windows and wondering how they survived storms.

"Yeah, the grids are made of seas stone, which is, unfortunately, very difficult to break," Marco explained. "Even if the thick glass shattered, the grids will still be there to protect you. You'll probably see some sea kings in this area, but don't worry. They tend to leave our ship alone due to its size. Huge sea kings aren't common at the surface, mostly in the deeper waters."

Ace and Sabo nodded while Luffy pressed his face against the window. The two older brothers got comfortable on the couch, their feet unable to hang over the edge since the furniture was supposed to hold someone as big as Whitebeard.

Once Marco left, the boys looked around the room curiously, seeing framed photos on the walls all around. They could see them easily, since they were big. Many were of the steadily growing family of pirates. The first picture was just of Whitebeard, a full head of long hair, and a small teenager with a grumpy face. It was young Marco, and he was very short and scrawny.

The next photo had Whitebeard, still young, with Marco, a few other guys that the three had never seen on the ship, and Thatch. Marco and Thatch were older teenagers, and the blonde looked much happier in this photo than the previous.

"What do you think happened to Marco, Sabo?" Ace asked. Luffy wondered what he meant, so he explained what Marco had told them while he had been asleep in the crowsnest.

"Probably a slave," Sabo answered immediately, having already given this a lot of thought. "While the circumstances of our situation were very unique, we were still captured, and Luffy used without knowing it. That basically makes us slaves, only who weren't tortured or starved."

"But I did the stuff willingly," Luffy pointed out, trying to understand. Ace frowned at him.

"You didn't know what you were doing. They kept information from you, and made you do those things. They still used you, only you didn't know it and thought what you were doing was right. You were maybe not a slave, but a servant of some sort," Ace said. Luffy didn't argue.

"I think Marco had a very bad and messy past. But, it's none of our business unless he tells us about it personally. We shouldn't pry," Sabo said seriously. Ace frowned at him as well.

"He pries all the time," Ace replied.

"No, he asks for information. He's never gone behind our back to get it, not that he really can. They've all been quite truthful to us, even letting us in on their research into Luffy's blood. They didn't hide how dangerous the alcohol is to Luffy by showing us the blood reaction. They have all be hospitable, and we can't repay that service by being nosy," Sabo insisted. They changed the subject away from Marco, Luffy looking back out the window.

The first sighting of a sea king came quickly, it's fin protruding from the surface before sinking back down. Luffy pressed his face closer to the glass, both palms against it and looking at the water intently. More and more sea kings were spotted, and it began to sprinkle, but stayed that way. There was no frightening storm, just light ran and a cloudy and dark sky.

The sea kings didn't approach the ship, at least from the back that they could see. Marco said they'd be in this area for awhile, and the boys weren't so afraid anymore. The sea kings didn't seem to be interested in the ship at all. That might not mean that they wouldn't eat someone if they fell overboard, so they were fine with staying inside this room most of the time. At least not when eating and sleeping.

Sabo left to get a book after awhile of silence, while Ace and Luffy played tic tac toe on a piece of paper. Eventually, dinner came, and Thatch knocked on the door to tell them. He was hesitant to come in, and stayed in the hallway. Usually, after dinner, they headed back to their room so they wouldn't be returning to Whitebeard's room again that day.

Dinner was sea king meat, as Marco had killed one and brought chunks of it back to have for dinner. Luffy and Ace _loved _it, eating fifths of the delicious meat. It was juicy and tasted much different than any other meat they'd ever had. By the end, both were full to bursting. They walked slowly to their room, both considering that they might have eaten too much for one sitting, with Sabo laughing at them.

Luffy had trouble falling asleep, thinking about Marco and feeling stupid. He was a slave and didn't know it? Sabo said slaves were abused and tormented, Luffy was neither. It felt wrong to compare himself to slaves. To Marco if he had been one. Sabo was usually right about things, so Luffy believed that Marco had been one when he was little.

He eventually fell asleep once Ace threw his arm across Luffy's chest, and he fell asleep to the warm feeling on his hand gripping him like he knew Luffy was feeling bad even in his sleep. He fell asleep with a smile.

-x-

A week after staying on the Moby Dick and adjusting to their new life, temporary it may be, Luffy found someone on the crew he did _not _like. The man rubbed him the wrong way, and quite frankly his appearance bothered the kid. His laugh was like nails on a chalkboard, a weird one. Well, Whitebeard's laugh was weird, but it was always giving off a happy and light vibe.

Teach's sounded wicked, even if he was laughing at a joke. He was smelly and gross to Luffy. He didn't voice his dislike to the man, even to his brothers, not wanting to sound ungrateful for the Whitebeards' help. But he stayed away from Teach as best as he could. It didn't help that he smelled like alcohol a lot, which Luffy associated with fear and agony.

His scowling at the man didn't go unnoticed by those who paid most attention to the boys. Namely, Thatch and Marco. Neither seemed to know why Luffy disliked Teach, but they were the only two to notice. Teach had come near the brothers once, not to approach them directly but they walked past him, and Luffy immediately moved away. The man didn't notice, thankfully.

He hid his dislike for quite some time successfully from others and his brothers. They both were adjusting much easier than Luffy was. Sometimes Luffy would wake up, wondering when his next job was. Wondering who he'd kill next. But then he'd look around and remember what had happened, and that his old life was over. Which was _good. _Luffy was just having a hard time since he'd never known anything different.

When Marco told him that being locked up at four and denied food was wrong, the boy had been genuinely surprised. But after that, he did his best to not feel surprised to learn something he used to do was not right.

He hadn't killed anyone, or felt the need to, which was good. He did have pent up energy that he wanted to release since he'd been unable to on the ship, but it was nothing so bad that he'd snap and harm someone. It seemed the pirates were moving away from that suspicion.

Haruta had taught the boys how to fish, with fishing poles that were old but still functional. They wouldn't be missed if they fell. They caught a few fish, but not many. At least, not in the morning. The three, especially Ace, were determined to catch at least _five _fish. That was their goal the first day. Five fish _each. _Only Sabo reached that quota, Luffy getting zero and Ace getting two.

Haruta came to check on them a lot, and said encouraging things about them not catching much. But, the crew did include the fish, small though they may be, in dinner. Of course, they were the ones who ate them, but they used their catch regardless.

It was the afternoon of the next day, all three determined to make or pass their five fish quota, that Ace caught something heavy. "I got something big!" he shouted, Luffy eagerly cheering for him to catch it. Whatever it was came floating, make Ace bummed that it didn't seem to be any fish, just a piece of trash, maybe.

"Or it's treasure," Luffy supplied once Ace's ace fell a bit. But, he easily pulled it up, since it was nothing living and didn't fight back. When he pulled up was a ball of some sort. "What is it?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Dunno, but it's definitely not a fish," Ace said grumpily, looking at the bucket of the fish Sabo and Luffy had caught but Ace hadn't. Luffy took it into his hands and asked, "Do you think it's edible?" It was bright orange, but didn't look like an orange of any sort. It was too big and shaped strangely.

"We should ask someone," Sabo replied. "Don't want to eat something poisonous. Maybe it's some sort of food that grows in the sea."

"Maybe it is treasure, then!" Luffy said. Ace swiped it back.

"I caught it, so it's mine," he said, making the youngest pout. "Hey, Marco!" Ace called, since he could see the strange hairdo around the corner. Marco might not be as tall as some on the crew, but he was still very tall compared to the twelve and eight year olds.

"What's up?" he asked, walking over.

"Ace caught a treasure but we don't know what it is," Luffy replied. Ace held up the catch, looking disappointed. Marco's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's a devil fruit," he stated. "You caught it while fishing?" Ace nodded his head, while Luffy looked excited.

"A real devil fruit? Not like whatever gave Luffy his powers?" Ace asked in awe, wondering what kind of power he could get if he ate it. "Am _I_ allowed to eat it?" he asked, wondering if he had to give it to the pirates as payment or something.

Marco nodded. "Well, the rule is that whoever finds it gets to eat it. It's interesting, I found my fruit in the sea, too. It was caught in a net on our old, tiny boat. I ate it immediately, not knowing what it was. You could say I was surprised when I caught on blue fire. But, you may want to know what it is before you- and you ate it," the commander sighed. Luffy and Sabo waited for something to happen.

"Do you feel any different?" Luffy questioned excitedly, wondering what kind of power Ace got. It had to be super strong, like the fruits the ones on this crew had eaten. Ace frowned.

"No. Are you sure it was a devil fruit?" Ace asked.

Marco nodded. "I'm positive."

"Cool!" and he burst into flames, flailing in panic. Luffy and Sabo started screaming about needing water before Marco grabbed the nearest empty barrel and flew down to fill it with water before dumping it over Ace, soaking him. The fire died out, and he was dripping wet.

"Ace, you caught on fire!" Luffy exclaimed, looking for burns. They were both shocked when Ace had no burns anywhere on his body. Ace was surprised when Marco took one of the fishing poles and jabbed Ace with it. It went through is body completely and out the other side, flames licking the wood but not burning it.

"You ate a logia fruit," Marco said, sounding impressed. "Those are very rare. Not as rare as my fruit was, but it's considered the strongest type of the three. But, you can't swim anymore," the first mate explained.

Sabo sighed. "Now I gotta fish you _both _out if you ever fall in." Ace chuckled, excited to be able to control his devil fruit. He could become so powerful, and wouldn't need his baby brother to protect him anymore. He always hated that Luffy had to protect them when necessary.

The boys abandoned their fishing poles, having found something much more interesting to focus their attention on. To say Ace was a walking fire hazard was an understatement. He freaked everyone out when he walked across the deck and caught fire just for sneezing. Luffy and Sabo flailed around again, shouting for water, which was delivered quickly. Ace was soaked again. This may be a problem.

Three hours later, Ace was surrounded by buckets of water out on deck, sporting a grumpy face. They had found out the hard way Luffy wasn't hurt by the fire. He'd never been burned before, but he'd never exactly seeked out being burned, so they didn't know until Luffy got too close and his shirt burst into fire. Screaming, water was dumped on him, and the second time today, there was someone who'd been on fire but sported no burns.

His clothes were ruined, though. Luckily, many shirts were made for them. If Luffy's shoes caught fire, that would be a problem since he only had one pair, but it was just his shirt. In the same way Luffy's clothes could sustain stretching and changing into the sticky good, Ace's clothes seemed immune to the flames.

They hadn't noticed before, but Marco was the same. He could change into phoenix form and his clothes would be just fine, along with his sandals. When whitebeard and some of the other commanders had the information brought to them, they had mixed feelings. On one hand, having a devil fruit was useful and would be good for the brothers if they ever needed to fight someone and Luffy was unable to. But on the other, fire was destructive, and they lived on a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean. Until Ace could control it, he was a danger.

Namur was fine at putting the fires out when they were outside, but inside, things were more dangerous. Until the boys were sleeping, a barrel of water beside the bed, and Ace caught on fire. Sabo screamed, but wasn't burned, while Luffy instinctually protected his brother and smothered Ace with the sticky substance, stretching over his body like it was going absorb him, only to snap right back in place, waking both Ace and Luffy.

Ace wasn't covered in the black substance, but he had the watery liquid on him that everyone thought was some sort of saliva. But, it was better than burning the ship down or giving Sabo horrific burns. After that, the boys separated one of the bunk beds from the other for Sabo's safety, though he felt left out and excluded when Luffy and Ace still shared.

But, he made sure he knew that it was for safety reasons, and he'd rather not have permanent burns all over his body. In the morning, when Ace caught fire at the breakfast table, and Luffy swallowed Ace instantly before shifting back seamlessly, the room went silent. In the silence, Whitebeard started laughing. Ace blushed, soaked in the saliva while Luffy was perfectly fine, back to eating his pancakes.

"Well, it's gross, but it works," Thatch chuckled. Ace shot him a glare, though it wasn't too heated. But, Sabo and Ace were partly grateful Luffy could do this. His power was no longer just scary and destructive. Even if it was absorbing Ace, it was protecting everyone from the fire.

The training with Marco shifted directions, and soon he was only focusing on Ace learning control, while Sabo began to spar with Vista, deciding he wanted to try out a weapon. He was nervous about a sword, so he was given a jitte to fight with. Luffy was left to watch again until Thatch suggested he try his own training with his power. Luffy didn't really know that to do but started trying to use his power to fish.

He dripped the substance down the side of the ship, trying to see how far it could stretch. Once it reached the sea, after about five minutes of slowly inching down, he lost the feeling in it and snapped it back. He couldn't exactly fish with it, trying to be productive. With Ace training with Marco, they had water around, and Luffy wasn't needed.

Since fishing wasn't working, he decided to try using it as a lasso. He gathered a bunch of the substance into his hand, his arm dripping it in like oil, and tossed it. It stuck tightly to the piece of rope he was aiming at and then pulled it back. The rope came with it, and Luffy cheered, the substance sucked back into his skin through his pores.

Jumping up and down, Luffy ran to Sabo to tell him, only to get hit in the face with the jitte, though it didn't hurt. "Luffy! I'm so sorry, are you okay?!" Sabo panicked until Luffy started gushing about his success. "That's really cool, Lu," Sabo said cheerfully, very glad he hadn't hurt his little brother.

"I'm gonna try grabbing more stuff!" Luffy cheered and ran off to cause some trouble. Like latching onto Thatch's back and snapping him backwards and into Luffy, knocking them both over the side of the ship.

The chef was a good sport about it, but Luffy was sleepy and napped for the next two hours. Whitebeard thought it was funny, but was planning on telling Luffy not to latch onto people or someone could get hurt. Haruta laughed at Thatch in a teasing way, but the man wasn't angry at Luffy for it.

-x-

The next morning, Marco headed into the infirmary with Ace to give his blood to Whiskey, since she had said it would be helpful to have logia blood to reference. Ace was fulling willing, but was nervous about accidentally burning someone other than Marco or Luffy.

The man was surprised to see Whiskey sleeping at her desk. He thought something was wrong, and woke her up. "Whiskey, are you okay?" Marco asked in concern. She was a bit dazed before waking up and straightening her back. "You okay?"

The head nurse rubbed her hand down her face. "Yeah, I stayed up late last night with testing Luffy's blood. It's become unhealthy with how much I want to solve this god damn mystery. Is there something you need?"

"No, but I have something you do. Ace here fished up a logia so you can have some logia blood to reference like you wanted." Whiskey had been on night duty so had been sleeping when Ace fished up the fruit and had eaten it. No one had gotten burned so nobody went to the infirmary to tell them.

"Great!" Whiskey said. "We'll need the sea stone cuffs to draw the blood," she commented. They had a single cuff in the infirmary that was used for the fruit users when their blood needed to be drawn. Well, specifically when Marco needed it, and now Ace, too, since he was a logia.

Ace did not like the feeling of sea stone and sagged against Marco when it was put on his wrist while Whiskey drew blood. It scared Ace, and they hurried, taking it off after around a minute of it being on. "Ace, are you alright?" Marco asked in concern when Ace's lip wobbled and he had a scared look on.

"Y-Yeah. Just brought back bad memories. Being so helpless," Ace confessed, looking away, cheeks red and embarrassed.

Marco rubbed his head. "There's nothing wrong with a moment of weakness. Do you want to talk about it? I won't tell anybody else, not even your brothers or Pops." Marco knew what it was like to feel the need to always be strong for your family, younger siblings, never showing a moment of weakness in front of them.

Ace looked uncertain, before lowering his head. "It doesn't matter," he muttered. For once, Marco didn't back off, thinking Ace could benefit from having a heart to heart. He looked pointedly at Whisky, who nodded and walked back to her office and the blood bank to file the blood.

"I think everything matters. At least to some degree. Everything matters because everything happens for a reason. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I know what it feels like to feel the need to be strong for your family, never showing a sliver of weakness or doubt." Ace's eyes widened as he looked up at Marco, before he shadowed his eyes from his long and wavy bangs.

Marco thought he was going to stay silent, but stayed, hoping he'd speak. And he did, after gathering the courage to lay his emotions bare. "It was when Luffy found us. We were chained up. Luffy was taken in another car, and me and Sabo were chained up with these big burly guys. We thought we were going to die, and I couldn't do anything to help protect Sabo. I'd never felt that helpless until now. It has been years since them, it should be gone... Stupid."

Marco looked up at the ceiling, remembering similar feelings to a similar situation, only it had been him alone. "Trauma can last a lifetime, Ace. There's nothing stupid about hvaing lasting trauma. It was only a couple years ago that I finally stopped having panic attacks every time I had anything around my ankles or wrists. It faded, but I still don't wear bracelets or shoes that are high around the ankles." Ace didn't look up, but clenched his fists.

The phoenix wasn't expecting Ace's next question. "I don't get why any of you care about us. We're burdens. Luffy was a killer, Sabo and I are weaklings. We're burdens and now I'm a danger to everyone. Why haven't you all ditched us yet?" Ace asked harshly. It made Marco think there were things wrong in Ace and Sabo's life long before Luffy came and literally kidnapped them.

"You're not burdens. None of you are, regardless of whatever happened in your past. Your past with Luffy and your past before Luffy. We're all children of the sea. Some of those on this crew have far darker pasts than yours, not that it lessens whatever happened to you. Someone in my own division was a marine that attempted Thatch's life. We're a very forgiving and understanding crew. This doesn't mean you can kill one of us and expect to get away with it.

"Whatever happened in your past doesn't define who you are a person deep down. Sure, experiences make you who you are, but mistakes don't. If you've ever done anything bad in your past, consider being on this ship as your start over, your rebirth," Marco said emphatically, kneeling down on the wooden floor and holding Ace's shoulders. He looked so small and young and broken.

Ace didn't share what he was thinking, but Marco knew his words were enough to chase away the feeling that he was a burden, at least for now. It might be something he needed to work at for the rest of his life, but right now he knew he was welcome. For as long as he wanted.

The boy sniffled, but kept the tears in. He wasn't holding them in forcibly, the tears had dried. He looked down, and mumbled out a thank you. "I have to go wake up Luffy or he won't sleep tonight," Ace said, shuffling out of the room with his head down, face red but not from wanting to cry.

"Didn't know you were such a good guy with kids," Whiskey called, though she hadn't been listening, she saw the very end.

"I'm not. I'm just not a rotten person inside who wouldn't help a kid when he needs it," Marco replied. Whiskey was about to reply before Marco saw her eyes widen while she was looking in the microscope at Ace's blood. She stood up and ran across the room, digging through a pile of photos and then running back.

Marco hurried over, too, hoping she had figured out what it was with Luffy's blood. "I've got it! At least, part of it!" Whiskey screamed. Not shouted or yelled, screamed. "He _did _eat a devil fruit! Look, look!" the head nurse yelled, shoving the photo of Luffy's blood, and then his head at the microscope. Before, Ace and Luffy's blood work looked different, but they were now more similar. After Ace ate the logia fruit.

"Luffy ate a logia?" Marco asked in shock. "But, he's immune to sea stone, how could he have eaten a logia? He can't be a devil fruit user and be immune to the affects of sea stone." He didn't want to get his hopes up in believing something 100% so he was crushingly disappointed if it was wrong.

"Maybe there was something wrong with the devil fruit. Maybe something happened to it, or it was altered. I'll test for any bacterium in the black spots of his blood. I never knew logia blood looked like that! Get out, get out so I can work in peace! And don't tell anyone until I know for sure!" and Marco was shoved out of the room.

He had a bounce in his step the rest of the day, glad there was at least _some _breakthrough with Luffy's abilities. He went to the library and got out the second copy of the devil fruit encyclopedia and looked at all the known logia fruits. What kind of coincidence has two brothers both eat logia fruits?

There were very few logia fruits compared to the other two types, and most of the fruits in the book had already been eaten. Marco would have assumed Luffy had been fed some version of the swamp-swamp fruit, but there was a rookie out there who had that fruit now. Which means Luffy couldn't have eaten it as a child. Well, a younger child.

The only other fruit on the list that didn't have a user at the moment was the snow-snow fruit and dark-dark fruit. And although there were many attributes that were similar to the dark-dark fruit, Luffy had some that were not listed. Of course, every fruit user has different moves.

Marco was counting on something having been wrong with Luffy's fruit. But whatever it was had somehow made him immune to seastone? It was farfetched, but it was the only thing they had to go on. Thank goodness Ace found a logia. There was no other way for them to get the bloodwork of one willingly.


	10. The Mystery Solved

**Guest: Thank you! I hope you stick with it.**

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**I'm sorry to update a day late! I posted another story and didn't want to be updating multiple ones on the same day. New developments in this chapter! We finally get to know what Luffy's powers are/where they came from! This chapter heavily uses some lovely, old made-up science. I know it's probably not accurate, so here is my disclaimer. Enjoy~**

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Sabo and Ace sat on the double bed against he headboard, Luffy drooling on Sabo's pant leg as he slept. Ace had come back in a much better mood than Sabo expected, smiling although his cheeks were a shade of pink in the lamplight.

"Mind telling me why you're so happy?" Sabo whispered, closing the book he'd started reading after finishing the first. Ace looked away, a bit embarrassed.

"Just… These are good guys," Ace replied simply. Sabo snorted.

"It took you this long to figure it out?" Ace nodded. "What changed?"

"Marco talked to me. Said really nice things, I think we can trust these pirates. Even if Luffy doesn't like one of them, they seem to all be really treasure each other, right? They can't have one bad guy. Whitebeard is smart, right? Wouldn't he have noticed?" Ace wondered, suddenly having extreme trust in the pirate captain. It had taken him awhile.

"Maybe Luffy just doesn't like how bad he smells. He hasn't given me another reason," Sabo replied, smiling that Ace found someone other than Sabo he could trust fully. Ace loved Luffy, but until recently the boy was doing the bidding of other people, and hadn't been completely trustworthy. He was now, though.

"Maybe. Anyways, we should wake him up so he can sleep tonight," Ace said, and they both gently shook Luffy awake. He looked up, drool dried on his cheek and Sabo's pants. "Wake up, Lu," Ace insisted. Luffy flopped back down.

"Noooo," he complained.

"Do you want a midmorning snack?" Sabo offered, and of course, Luffy shot up.

"I do!" Sabo and Ace chuckled. They had gone to breakfast, but Luffy had still been sleepy and returned to the room to nap some more. Luffy ran to the door and put his shoes on and fixed his shirt, wiping the dried drool off of his face. Both boys put their shoes on, too. Ace didn't catch fire the whole walk to the galley. They wanted some snacks before lunch. And Thatch would definitely give them some.

Thatch was more kid than adult, anyways, so they could relate to him easily. He was the guy who pranked all of the commanders by switching out their ink with invisible ink that faded when dried. All those reports ruined, and then Thatch punished for two weeks. Even commanders have to have consequences for their actions.

"Thatch, snacks please!" Luffy declared when the three walked into the galley.

"Coming right up, m'boys!" the chef called, already getting the ice cream out to make them some milkshakes. On their way to the bar counter, Ace caught fire and Luffy put him out. The three enjoyed the shakes, with Thatch asking Ace about his fruit and what he looked forward to learning the most.

"Well, learn to not catch on fire on accident is first and foremost. But, I want to be able to protect myself, and Sabo. I don't want Luffy to have to protect us anymore. He's our little brother, so we gotta look out for him," Ace said fondly. Luffy smiled and hugged him tightly.

"Awwww!" Thatch cooed. He did that every time the brothers showed physical affection. After over a week of it, it didn't bug them so much anymore. Sabo snickered but was looking at them fondly, too.

"What, do I not get any hugs?" Sabo said, faking a hurt voice. Luffy jumped up and ran around Ace to hug is other brother tightly. They both knew they were a little two old to engage in banter like this, Luffy liked it and was used to it, acting like he was younger was always what he did.

Thatch cooed again, and hurried back to the kitchen to start lunch after glancing at the large clock on the galley wall above the door. The boys ate their snacks enthusiastically and then began to talk about Ace's fruit, and Sabo saying he liked the jitte weapon. He wasn't at risk of cutting either of his brothers or the pirates but it was a weapon other than a gun.

"You know neither of us can be cut, right?" Ace asked dryly. Sabo thought for a second before slamming his palm against his forehead. But, Thatch's voice cut across the room.

"You two _can _be injured, Luffy by your own weakness, Ace by sea stone and definitely Ace with haki. I'm not sure about haki with Luffy, but we can test that out later if you'd like." Once Sabo questioned what haki was, the chef explained it to them as he cooked, sou chefs trickling in to assist as it got later.

"I wanna have the cool haki," Luffy said after Thatch had finished explaining. Ace nodded in agreement.

Sabo hummed. "I don't know, armament haki would be pretty useful. Could interact with devil fruit users more."

Izo walked in and overheard the boys' conversation. "No, the pinnacle of all of the haki has to be observation haki. It will help you in the most situations to not only fight, but to know others are around you. Others are close, and you can see their movements clearly in your mind, able to dodge attacks. It's basically the minimum pirates must know to sail in the New World."

"But… I didn't know that and I did okay," Luffy pointed out. He'd never even heard of haki, but he was supposed to have it? Izo put his finger on his chin in thought.

"That is true, but you also have a very powerful and diverse set of powers at your hand. I'll rephrase it to most _normal _cases of pirates coming to the New World must have haki. I guess you're an exception," Izo replied. Luckily, Luffy didn't take not being called normal as an insult, and just made a "hmm" noise.

Marco walked in on their conversation and gave a curious look to Luffy that only Ace noticed, who looked away and blushed a bit, still embarrassed about his weakness and break down, but didn't think Marco would tell anyone else. Not even the captain, which made Ace feel he could trust this man.

"Don't tell them they aren't strong enough to be in the New World without haki. Ace has a logia now, Luffy has his powers and Sabo is learning how to fight well so far. Besides, as long as they're with us, we'll keep them safe," Marco said, sitting across from the boys and next to Izo.

"I would like to learn haki. Will you try to teach me?" Sabo asked before getting up with Luffy and Sabo to get the food once it began to be put out on the counter for pirates to serve themselves.

Haruta and many more pirates and commanders came in once the boys and Marco and Izo had their food. The youngest commander said, "You should ask Jozu. He's the best armament haki user on the ship."

Sabo pointed out he was made of diamond, so why did he need to use haki to harden his skin? "Everyone should know the basics of haki. Jozu learned before he got his devil fruit," Vista replied while Haruta got his food. "How is Ace doing with his logia power?"

"The bed caught on fire but Luffy put it out quickly," Sabo supplied. "It's still in okay shape since Luffy was there so quickly.

"He woke up from the fire?" Marco asked.

Sabo and Ace shook their heads, Luffy shoving pasta into his mouth greedily. "No, he wasn't awake when it happened. His powers just reacted quickly," Sabo explained. The commanders looked surprised.

"Well, that's interesting. I've heard logia fruits work that way. Once trained enough, they can make their bodies intangible when they are unconscious if they're in danger. Marco can do that as well, though his body heals automatically no matter what, as long as he doesn't have any sea stone restricting him," Curiel said. "Ace will probably be able to do such things once he gets to use his fruit more. Maybe the next island we can spend some more time on to help train you three."

Ace beamed. He'd want to learn how to use his fruit from other fruit users. They still didn't know if Luffy was a devil fruit user. Though, after being on the ship, they were very curious. They didn't know much about devil fruits (clearly, since they didn't recognize the one Ace fished up), but wanted answers for Luffy's strange powers.

"That would be very much appreciated," Sabo said thankfully. "Thank you all for being understanding with us," he added sincerely. Some commanders said it was no problem while others said it was their pleasure.

"You brats sure keep things interesting, I'll say that," the captain said after sitting down in his usual place. Luffy smiled softly, liking all of these people very much. Well, besides Teach and Kingdew, who still didn't like him. Everyone else had accepted him to their ship, which meant a lot. He was doing good about not killing anyone.

-x-

A bit before dinner, Marco hurried to the infirmary to see Whiskey writing down things with a smile at her desk, reading glasses on as she did paperwork, much like Marco did with his own paperwork. She had her copy of the devil fruit encyclopedia, though this one had notes in it based on experiences with users. Most of it was written by Amy, the so called "expert".

"Anything new?" Marco questioned curiously, excitement on his face. The nurses were eating their own dinner, preferring to go get left overs once all the men were out of the room and they could actually hear each other talk.

"You bet-cha!" Whiskey said in an ecstatic voice. "And I can't believe I haven't thought of it yet! I went through as many tests as I could with the unique cells in Luffy's blood, and found traces of bacterium that should not exist in the human body. He isn't ill from them, as they seem to only exist inside the devil fruit cells. They aren't inside anyone else's, only Luffy's. They are bacterium you'd find inside a rotting fruit. A very badly rotting plant. A plant that has almost lost its shape it's so rotten. Honestly, if it was that rotten, it should have reformed somewhere else, but it didn't. And you can guess what dissolves these specific bacteria?"

"Alcohol!" Marco said, the pieces finally coming together. "So his fruit was rotten?" Marco asked. It was slightly anticlimactic, but also incredibly interesting since he had no idea devil fruits could rot.

"Yes, but I've asked Amy and she's told me it's not possible for devil fruits to rot. I also found traces of other chemicals _inside _the bacterium _inside _his cells. Not just blood cells, all of them. Thank goodness Pops splurged on the equipment of this infirmary. It's going to sound strange, but the chemicals are what creates antibodies, but also with what creates a chemical reaction that takes the form of slime. That is why his powers are that texture, and why he can heal beyond a logia power and could be the reason he is immune to sea stone.

"My best theory is that his captors were messing with the fruit, injecting things into it, but it began to rot due to that, so they made Luffy eat it before it was completely ruined. And I'm estimating he ate the fruit a good five years ago based on the age and state of the bacterium, which seems to be sealed inside of the cells and isn't going away anytime soon."

"Which fruit do you think it is?" Marco asked with a grin. Whiskey was brilliant, this proved it like many times before.

"Probably the dark-dark fruit. Though he has properties in it that I cannot explain. Like the growing rapidly into smaller and larger sizes. Or the fact he can transform his body into different shapes by using the solidity of his version of this fruit. It's supposed to be not solid, but his version turns semi-solid, though things can still go through him. He can have many more powers, but these ones are unorthodox in my opinion.

"The dark-dark power is probably one of the most powerful out there. It's not a stretch to call its user a demon," Whiskey pointed out. "Considering he must have eaten his fruit at three or four, it makes sense he's good at it. After all, he's had it as long as he can remember. He doesn't remember eating it."

Marco suddenly felt bummed. Now that they thought they had all the information, there was no mystery to pursue anymore. Marco was satisfied with the answer, and the itch was gone, but he would miss the speculation and excitement every time Whiskey made another discovery.

"It sure is a strange coincidence to have two logias who are both brothers," Whiskey commented with a curious voice. Marco nodded in agreement. "Man, Amy is gonna be so pissed she was wrong. For the first time, that is." Marco nodded in agreement, not looking forward to her rage, though this was a very different case than she'd ever come across."

Marco told Whiskey he was going to get the captain and boys and have her tell them the news. She got her papers in order, preparing to tell them everything she found out, and what she assumed. Some of it was assumption, though there was evidence to back it up. At least, enough evidence for the assumptions to sound probable.

When Marco entered the galley, the boys were gone. The captain was reading the newspaper. "Pops, Whiskey needs to talk to you," Marco said quietly. Whitebeard looked worried for a moment, before he saw Marco's relaxed face, meaning there was no emergency. "We have to fetch the boys before we go." They followed the feeling of the three to the library, where Sabo was attempting to teach Ace and Luffy how to read.

"Boys, we have some new information about Luffy's powers. Would you like to come learn?" All three jumped up and ran from their couch to the two pirates, leaving their writing stuff out, though neither pirate made them return them to their original places.

When they all entered the infirmary, the three were bouncing on their toes while the captain had a look of interest and curiosity on his face. Whiskey explained everything immediately, showing the boys the photos of Luffy's cells compared to Ace's, and then read to them more about rotting fruit. They were worried about Luffy having bacteria in his cells, but whiskey assured them that, if nothing had happened so far, nothing bad should become from it.

Whitebeard was the most shocked out of the information. Shocked and immensely interested. The boys didn't grasp how unique the situation was. The mutated fruit changed the powers, which was fascinating.

"So, Luffy was so badly affected by alcohol because it dissolves the bacteria in his cells?" Whiskey nodded. "Why can he heal, then? If it destroys the cells?" Whiskey shrugged.

"We won't know unless we test it, and I, for one, am not going to put my patient in excruciating pain," she said strongly. "But, my hypothesis is that it's part of his logia power but also whatever chemical they put in there, along with how quickly the bacteria inside replicates. It might not replicate the cells themselves but speed up how they replicate normally. It's a hypothesis and might be wrong, I'm not sure."

Luffy looked surprised. "I'm made of rotting fruit?" he asked in confusion, not being able to follow much of what the nurses said, apparently.

"No, you ate a rotting devil fruit that put bacteria inside of your cells, which make up your body. It's harmless and has not seemed to have done any damage. To be honest, your rotting fruit was more powerful than it was at full power, which is quite surprising."

Luffy's eyes shadowed and he looked down at his hands. "So, I'm not a demon?" he asked in a small voice.

Marco strongly replied with, "No. You are not a demon. You just have a unique devil fruit. One of a kind." Luffy smiled a watery smile, and Ace and Sabo both gave him a group hug. The three adults in the room pretended not to notice Luffy's silent sobs, though his shaking body made it clear he was. It was an emotional moment and they didn't want to intrude.

"Should we let everyone know?" Whiskey asked curiously. Marco didn't know how to feel about telling people. On one hand, it solved the mystery for everyone and solidified the statement that Luffy was not a demon. But, he didn't want anyone to know about the alcohol weakness.

"We shall have a commanders' meeting on the subject. Please come, too, daughter. I'd like you to explain it once again, to all of the commanders," Pops said.

"Roger," Whiskey said. "Will the meeting be soon?"

"Immediately." Whiskey nodded and went to get all of her documents and papers together, putting them in a manilla folder to carry them easier. "Boys, we will be having a meeting about if we should reveal some of Luffy's information. How do you feel about that?"

"Don't tell them about his weakness. At least, not everyone," Ace said immediately.

"Tell them I'm not a demon. Why my power is like this," Luffy added, wiping his eyes, which were red and shiny with tears, both shed and unshed. Whitebeard nodded and agreed to their terms.

The three pirates left the room and the nurses helped to fetch the commanders around the ship. At this time of the day, most would be doing some sort of work, but there was no storms and their divisions could handle them just fine.

Fifteen minutes later, the commanders were in their chairs and patiently waiting for Whiskey to start taling. Like before, she explained everything she'd found out. She had the devil fruit encyclopedia with notes stuck to the sides of the page, and passed it around the table. To say everyone was shocked and fascinated was an understatement.

No one had ever heard of a rotting fruit, or that anyone could alter them in any way like this. It was so interesting and frankly, relieving that Luffy had eaten a normal devil fruit that was just messed with and had not eaten anything related to a demon. They felt foolish for believing that for how long they did.

Kingdew's point of view did not change, unfortunately. He still saw Luffy as a danger based on his past. Namur's opinion had changed about Luffy being some sort of monster, but would still keep his past in mind.

"So, should we tell everyone? Ace would like us to not reveal Luffy's weakness, but they are fine with us telling them the basics. That his fruit is not related anything to a demon, despite its ominous name," Marco explained.

Thatch said, "I think that telling everyone when the boys are not in the room is the best course of action. So, if there are any negative reactions, they won't have to see them. But man, I sure am glad we know what's up!" He sported a huge grin, and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms happily.

"So we let the chips fall how they may after that?" Vista asked. Thatch nodded, and most of the commanders agreed that that was the best course of action.

"After dinner why don't we gather everyone for an announcement instead of just hoping everyone is in the galley when we speak?" Whitebeard offered. It was his decision, but he always liked hearing what his commanders thought of them.

Marco nodded in agreement. "That would be for the best so everyone knows. No one goes without knowing the news. I hope everyone accepts him after this. Those three deserve it, after what they've been through. I do think something was wrong with Ace and Sabo _before _they met Luffy, but I haven't asked and won't share if he does tell me." Everyone knew how reliable Marco was with confidential conversations, only sharing with Pops if they were a danger to whoever told him or anyone else. There were many things that his division shared with him that he never told anyone else. Everyone knew they could trust him, and the phoenix did everything to maintain that trust.

"I wish they'd talk to _me _too," Thatch mumbled sadly.

"You're not very good at keeping secrets, Thatch," Jozu pointed out, making the chef pout angrily and fire back, "Can, too!" The others sighed, though Thatch's immaturity when it was not inappropriate was endearing in a way. Haruta was second, being Thatch's prankster buddy.

"How long are we going to keep them here?" Kingdew suddenly asked, the first time he'd spoken the entire meeting. Some looked at him in frustration or irritation. Whitebeard looked at him for a good minute.

"For as long as it takes Ace and Sabo to be able to defend themselves," he replied, though only Marco could sense the lie in his Pops' voice. He'd been with the man from the start, and had seen all 1600 recruitments. He was a veteren here and knew when the captain wanted to keep someone, even if they didn't want to stay themselves.

Whitebeard had been planning to keep them from the start. Marco agreed, and thought that maybe part of the reason was that Marco had made them take the boys with them, and he'd always been a good judge of character. Many of his brothers and crewmates had done heinous things before joining, but once they took the mark, their previous life was wiped clean, and they were reborn as Whitebeard pirates.

Dinner was the same as usual except for the demeanor of their resident children. Ace and Sabo looked nervous while Luffy looked happier than usual, showing that he was glad himself that he wasn't a demon, not in any sense. At least, not anymore. The word had been haunting him since he stepped foot on the ship and now it was disproven.

Ace and Sabo seemed worried about the reaction the pirates would give, though they were hopeful everyone would be happy about it.

"Boys, why don't you go back to the library to read while we have a conversation in here?" Marco said. The three got the message and left the room without making eye contact with anyone. The pirates made sure the boys were gone far enough to not hear before whitebeard stood. He sure was making a lot of announcements since the kids came.

The room silenced. "Sons, we are having a crew wide meeting. If you know of anyone not here, please bring them. The announcement will start in ten minutes," the captain explained. The pirates looked at each other, but it was the climax of the dinner, so only a few were gone, either napping or in the bathroom. Ten minutes later, everyone was inside.

Whiskey wasn't there to make the announcement, the captain was going to. He had a script to read off of with all the information they would be sharing with the majority of their crew. So, he explained about what fruit Luffy had eaten, the dark-dark fruit, what was wrong with it and why it had reacted the way it did. To say the room was shocked was an understatement. No one had heard of a devil fruit rotting or anyone messing with them in such a way.

"Luffy was three when he ate it, and from that point on, was used by those who were Marco's captors. He didn't do any of this of his own choice, so we'd like for everyone to give him a chance, now that you know he simply ate a fruit, and has no relations to supposed demons," Whitebeard said, somehow making eye contact with every single one of his sons.

The pirates exchanged looks, before some smiled and others shrugged. It was enough to show that the majority of the pirates were relieved and more accepting of Luffy now that they knew he wasn't in any way related to a demon, just that the way he used the fruit was creepy looking.

"You know, once Ace learns how to use his power, they could be pretty strong around here," Haruta said, everyone in a good mood at the more accepting nature of the pirates.

Vista frowned. "We can't have children fighting battles for us," he pointed out. Haruta pouted, but Namur defended his statement.

"How many of us have been fighting battles and overcoming them since childhood? And Luffy has proven he can fight. All we need is for Ace and Sabo to get better and we have a little team." After hearing about Luffy's devil fruit, he didn't dislike the boy so much anymore. Not after Marco's explanation and the facts they were given.

"That's true, but do we really want Luffy to fight? What if he loses control?" Fossa questioned. It made some of the commanders think.

Marco said, "I don't think he'll lose control. He's never lost control on his brothers, and we're kind people as well. At least to each other and our allies. Though I don't think he should fight either, unless necessary. Those boys deserve to act like children. They deserve to not have to fight for anyone but themselves and each other. If they joined officially, then possibly," he glanced at Whitebeard, who met his eyes and then looked away discretely, taking a sip of his booze.

Marco let out a wry smile, but it disappeared so fast the pirates thought they imagined it. "Well, Ace needs to learn to control his devil fruit anyway," Curiel said. "It sure it convenient that Luffy is able to put the fire out, even if it is basically eating Ace and then spitting him back out. Covered in saliva."

Thatch and Haruta laughed. "Poor kid," they said at the same time. "JINX!" They then got into an argument about who said it first.

The commanders talked and laughed at the table, glad they had answers now. It only took over a week, but it had been annoying to not know. No one noticed someone was very angry at one of the tables, out of the view of the commanders.

**Next chapter, shit hits the fan. See you next time!**


	11. A Traumatic Experience

**Jasmine: I won't be putting any spoilers for the story in the comments. You'll just have to read to find out ;)**

**WhiteyWolf26: Mwahahaha keep hoping that. I don't think I mention any fruit in the first place lol. Plus, I'd have to go in and reedit all the chapters on ao3 and (and stupid wattpad now. Why did I do this to myself? Had to post 200 chapters for my 3 followers to catch up all my stories. -_-) **

**Phoenix: We all know canon Luffy would eat anything that is considered food, lol.**

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**This is a turning point in the story, and affects the rest of it. Shit goes down, and there's some gore and blood, but very mild. I posted a long one-shot, focused on ASL with dragons again. I love dragon stories, and there aren't nearly enough of them. Anyways, enjoy~**

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Luffy stood in front of the large mirror in the bathhouse bathroom, staring at his tattoo with a frown, covering it up with his hands, as it was longer than one could cover, and trying to hide it to see what he looked like. His eyes were brighter now, he noticed and his brother's pointed out, who were in the bathtub. Ace was in the shallow part made specifically for the devil fruit users.

Luffy smiled, but it wasn't true. It wasn't creepy or unsettling, but it wasn't the true smile he reserved for his brothers.

Still looking in the mirror, he shifted into his humanoid version of his devil fruit, standing and looked really creepy. He had no face, but could still see, hear and smell. When he opened the palm of his hand after making a fist, his fingers were stuck to the base of his hand before they snapped back apart.

He saw his brothers watching him, but paid them no attention. From the half form, he changed into his full version, four legs and no head. He tried hard to rein the stickiness in, make himself more solid instead of looking like he was melting to the ground, but it wasn't possible. At least, not right now. The stick stayed on the ground, only snapping up when he walked away, still watching his appearance.

Since he was so strong in this form, the sticking to the ground was no problem. It didn't take much strength to unstick his feet from it. While he was in that form, a couple pirates walked in and watched him for a bit before he self-consciously changed back and hurried to his brothers in the tub.

Despite looking like he was melting, none of the stick remained after he was back to human Luffy. He left no mess or any evidence of being there. He undressed except for a towel around his waist and sat next to Ace in the shallow part. Both were drained of energy, and Ace was clearly irritated with the feeling.

"This is annoying," Ace grumbled, slowly picking his and up, feeling so weak.

"At least you'll be able to move afterwards," Sabo commented, now the only one able to go into deep water or swim. "Luffy falls asleep right afterwards."

Luffy sighed. "Sorry," he said quietly. Ace shot Sabo an annoyed look.

"Not your fault, Lu. Besides, since everyone found out about your fruit, they've been willing to carry you to our room. You're not a burden. Marco said so, too," Ace supplied. He had shared his talk with the first mate with his brothers when they were feeling down about not being allowed to fight some pirates and feeling like people thought they were useless.

Ace tried to catch on fire only for it to fizzle out with a little steam right away. He sighed, not having gotten any better at his power in the last week they were on the Moby Dick. He was going to practice with Sabo after the bath while Luffy rested in their room.

After then were nice and clean, Ace relaxed and Luffy falling asleep, they left the bath and got dressed. A pirate from the fourth division offered to carry the boy to his room. The three had talked to him before, his name was Lee. He was very nice to them after the announcement. More than once he'd carried Luffy with the brothers walking beside him.

"Thanks, Lee," Sabo said.

"No problem," the pirate replied. When the three kids first got on the ship, they expected everyone to be cruel and mean, especially towards Luffy after capturing their first mate, but after the last two weeks, most had warmed up to them. Not interacting with him specifically, but didn't glare and waved or smiled when passing them.

Some even cheered on the boys when they were practicing. Over all, almost all of the pirates had forgiven Luffy for kidnapping Marco. Many now laughed at the man about it, earning glares from the commander. The ones who teased him most, though, were his fellow division commanders. He could not punish them, and they knew it, so they did most of the joking and jabs.

Luffy was set down on their bed, and Ace and Sabo tucked him in under the blankets, setting Luffy's favorite stuffed animal next to his head so he will feel better if he wakes up alone. Luffy had told them it was his first and favorite because he wasn't alone before Ace and Sabo came.

The two headed up to the deck to practice with Marco and Vista, as it was time to do so. Ace was feeling very refreshed from the bath. Sabo had the jitte he'd been given in his hand, ready to try and catch up to Luffy. They both knew it would take awhile to catch up, but they wanted to. They wanted to protect him, too. They didn't know they would fail.

-x-

It was lunch time with a break for Ace and Sabo to eat. Luffy was still sleeping, but was starting to wake up, the fog clearing slowly, but he was still asleep, just not so heavily. He was still very tired in his body, but not his mind.

He was about to wake up when someone slipped into the room, closing the door with a creak behind him. Luffy didn't wake up, trusting this crew not to hurt him, so he let down his walls when he slept now. He wasn't with Ace and Sabo, but he didn't think anyone would hurt him or come in while he was napping alone.

The man who entered the room didn't wait to walk to the bed, and Luffy started to wake up from the shadow over him, the man standing in front of the nightlight beside Sabo's bed in the wall. Luffy opened his eyes only to scream, but a huge hand shoved over his mouth, silencing him as he was injured by something other than alcohol for the first time.

There was a knife in his stomach, pulled out once and then stabbed back in deeper. Luffy couldn't see who it was, but his fruit acted immediately, consuming the man's legs and crushing them to mush, causing _him _to scream and pass out from the agony of all of his legs being crushed to bits, bones shattered into tiny pieces.

Luffy gasped on the bed, and coughed up blood. He yanked the knife out and threw it at the wall with shaking hands. His wounds weren't healing at all, and he looked down to see the edges of the gash black and trying to stitch the wound back up himself, using the stick as stitches that continuously broke apart.

The boy staggered to his feet, the world tilting around him, before he threw open the door and stumbled out of the room and into the light suddenly, hurting his eyes. "Help!" he whimpered, holding onto the wall as the world tilted further and he felt he was going to fall. "Help!" he shouted a little louder, though not loud enough. Where were Ace and Sabo? Where was everyone who walked around the ship? Where was anyone? Was he going to die alone? He didn't know who attacked him or why, but that was an after thought.

He heard some whistling coming from down the hall and shouted, as loud as he could, "HELP ME!" spraying blood all over the floor, flying out of his mouth as he shouted. The whistling stopped and he heard thundering footsteps as someone ran to him and around the corner.

Luffy was afraid it would be someone bad, but it was Thatch, who had dropped the plate of food he was bringing to Luffy for lunch, since he hadn't woken up in time for it. "Luffy!" Thatch screamed in horror, and saw the horrible amount of blood pouring from his wound and already puddled around his feet.

The man caught him before Luffy fell hard to the ground. Thatch didn't wait, seeing the wound and feeling sick, to pick him up and run to the infirmary, shoving anybody and everybody in his way, trailing blood after him. He didn't call out anyone's name, but people trickling out from lunch saw Luffy, blood all over his mouth. His head was tilted back, the blood dripping up his face and into his hairline.

Thatch cursed the bedrooms being not on the floor with the infirmary as Luffy made ragged breaths. His eyes fluttered open and closed, though he wasn't aware of his surroundings, only feeling pain and fear. He didn't want to die with Thatch, he wanted his brothers.

They finally made it to the infirmary, Thatch screaming for help and laying Luffy on the nearest hospital bed. He was immediately shoved out of the way by Tami and Wendy, Whiskey coming out right after. No questions were asked as the nurses got to work.

"We need to close the wound, we have no blood for a transfusion," Whiskey said in her calm doctor voice. Curiel wasn't there and there wasn't time to fetch him. Thatch ran out to get Marco and tell him what happened before searching for whoever stabbed Luffy.

When Tami tried to sew up the wound, it went right through the skin of the logia. He must have been stabbed with something covered in haki. It was too bad Thatch had left so they could not coat the needle in haki. But they didn't have time to waste to go bring Thatch back. Whiskey's mind ran at a mile a minute, coming up with any ideas before she ran to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a bottle of water, a paper cup and a box of Q-tips. "I'm sorry, Luffy," she said through gritted teeth as Luffy screamed as the alcohol was dabbed on the edges of the wound, to weaken his skin but diluting the rubbing alcohol in water enough so the skin didn't burn away.

When the injured skin was solid and not able to turn into the black substance, she stitched him up as fast as possible, regretting not drawing blood from him before now to give to him in case he suffered a major injury.

She felt bad for hurting him further, but there was nothing else she could do. They could only hope that Luffy would pull through. He had an oxygen mask on his face, but no one was comfortable giving him morphine and reacting badly to his unique and polluted blood system.

Ace and Sabo ran into the room, screaming at their blood covered brother and staring at the stitched up and burned skin of his stomach. "What did you do?!" Ace screamed at Whiskey, seeing he had put alcohol on him knowing what would happen!

"I had to. His skin wasn't allowing me to stitch him up. I had to weaken the area. There's nothing we can do. I couldn't sew up his insides as a precaution to not get any alcohol inside his body. Only the outside. We have no blood for him, so we have to hope his powers heal him," the head nurse said with a troubled face on. After all, she'd never treated anyone like Luffy before.

-x-

"_WHAT?!" _Marco screamed when Thatch quickly told him the situation. Ace and Sabo were at the table and shot up, knocking Haruta off the bench as they sprinted to the infirmary. Marco stood up and followed behind them closely. Whitebeard looked shocked and horrified.

"Someone come with me to check out the room," Thatch said in a shaking voice, covered in Luffy's blood, his white chef's outfit ruined beyond repair. There was no way the blood would come out of it. He wanted to take it off right now, but there was no time. Whoever stabbed Luffy might have run already and they wouldn't know who did it.

One of their brothers, _family, _stabbed and might have killed the young boy on their ship. A _child. _A fucking _eight _year old! And they had already told everyone that he wouldn't hurt him, wasn't a monster! Haruta and Vista stood up immediately, and ran off with Thatch to try and find the culprit. Not long after, Whitebeard got up and followed, catching up to his sons easily as he stormed through the halls.

The three who hadn't already seen it were sick with the amount of blood pooled a few feet away from the bedroom door, showing he'd been stabbed while he was probably still asleep. No one wanted to go in, but they had to. Pops went in first, flipping on the light switch, seeing the bloody dagger in front of his feet before seeing who had committed the crime.

It was _Teach. _And Luffy had gotten him back, his legs, up to his upper thighs, were damaged beyond repair. He was unconscious and sweating from the pain of the injuries. The three commanders felt absolute fury, while Whitebeard hid his sadness, devastation that one of his sons had done this.

One of the sons he'd had for the longest time. One of the first twenty he'd recruits all those years ago. _Why _would he do this? "Someone get handcuffs, and prepare a cell in the brig." No one had used the brig in over a decade. After all, they were supposed to all be family, and family didn't hurt each other enough to be locked up.

Sure, there had been injuries, but they were accidental while sparring, or some other kind of accident. Teach hadn't injured any of his family, but he had betrayed them by harming someone under their care, crewmember _yet _or not. The commanders and captain already thought of the boys more as family than as guests. The three had let them in, opened their hearts to the pirates and _trusted _them. They'd proved it time and time again by telling the truth, allowing others to carry and touch Luffy, allowing everyone to know Luffy's real powers. Letting the commanders and captains know Luffy's one weakness.

Well, besides haki apparently. Teach was chained quickly, and since he'd never walk again, he was not woken up and was instead dragged along the floor. Jozu had come with a sheet of plastic to put under the traitor so he didn't track blood down the halls. He wasn't worth anyone carrying him there.

The pirate woke up when they went down the first flight of stairs. "Pops! Agh! Luffy did this to me! He's a monster!" Teach shouted. Thatch stomped down on his face enough to break his nose and knock out more teeth than he was already missing.

"You sick _fuck! _We _know _you stabbed Luffy while he was sleeping! Don't you dare call Pops that when you've betrayed our trust and values," Thatch snapped. No one had ever seen him this angry. Even after Marco was taken, never had he been this furious. He rarely swore, unlike most of them, so hearign him say "fuck" was surprising. Though they really shouldn't be, as Thatch had welcomed and opened up to the boys almost immediately. He cared about the three deeply.

"No, he attacked first!"

"What were you doing in his room, then?" Haruta asked coldly, kicking his face and break a cheek bone. There was going to be more from where that came from. "Why would he lead you to his own room only to injure you like this? Why wouldn't he just kill you and leave you alive to tell the story? He's not stupid, he's killed before. Just him _not _killing you after you stabbed him shows he isn't a monster. _You are." _

They were still dragging him along the hall, this part of the ship cold and dusty, as no one needed to come to the brig. Nothing was stored there, and no one was locked down there. Usually, the pirates were punished for mistakes by chores or restrictions of privileges, including alcohol. Never, in many years, had anyone needed to be down there.

The last time someone had been locked up in the brig had turned out to be a misunderstanding, and the man was let out almost immediately, apologized to profusely for their mistake.

"I don't know how to think like a crazy murderer does!" Teach shouted, still wincing and gasping from the pain in his mangled legs. It really did look extremely painful, but they couldn't feel pity for him after he tried to kill Luffy. It was one thing to try and kill a guest on the ship, since they weren't officially part of the crew, but it was abhorrent to kill someone so young as Luffy. Whether he had blood on his hands from his previous life or not, it didn't change the fact that he was a child. A sweet, innocent one that had been forced to commit those murders.

Teach, and the rest of them, had killed many times, but never something this disgusting and immoral. He was tossed into the brig and his chains were connected to the wall. Those that had gone with them down, taking Teach to his last place he'd ever be on this ship, ran off to check on Luffy and fill in the others on what had happened.

Whitebeard stayed down there, and looked at his son with sad, but stormy eyes. "Why, Teach? Why have you done something like this? And do not lie to me, I will know. And you will be in more pain than you already are. This is not just a horrible thing to do, you have betrayed the trust of your family. Tried to kill someone everyone has been told to leave alone. A child, who should have a long life before him. You've tried to snuff out a bright light and I want to know _why," _the captain said in a dangerous voice.

"He ate the devil fruit I've been searching for for _decades!" _Teach shouted. Whitebeard looked disbelieving.

"You have possibly killed that child over his devil fruit? That he didn't chose to eat himself?" his voice was quiet in the shock, even though he was so furious he wanted to scream.

"Yes! That was the only fruit that would succeed in killing you! I'd do anything for the fruit, not even blink at killing one of our own! This is not my _family! _You're just a bunch of idiots playing house when you could do so much more! You're a disgrace of an emperor!" Teach spat out. Whitebeard's eyes darkened, and it took everything he had not to unleash part of his power to punish Teach. He refused to injure his home and children. Which didn't include Teach anymore.

"So, you've been faking this whole time?" Whitebeard asked in a cold voice, despite the utter shock he was feeling. The shock and pain that one of his sons would so boldly claim he'd kill another of his family. His father and any brother that got in his way.

"Yes. I was never your son, you old fool," Teach growled. Whitebeard didn't want to hear anymore, had heard enough, and shut and locked the cell door.

"I hope you know the consequences of your actions. You're punishment is execution," Whitebeard said before closing and locking the brig door behind him. Even if Teach got out of the cell, it was impossible to open the brig from the inside, and Teach would never be able to walk again.


	12. Humble Apologies

**phonenix: I love killing him off in various ways. Always very painful lol.**

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**Remember that text in bold = spoiler. Minor, but a Wano manga story spoiler none the less. I posted another story (-_-) and it's a mostly romance, but some adventure and drama. It's my first story posted in 2 years that has any smut / **

**Anyways, enjoy~**

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The commanders stared at the young boy laying on the bloody bed with pained expressions. Ace and Sabo were sobbing into the mattress. Luffy might die. He'd lost a lot of blood. It was spread throughout the ship. His shirt was torn open to show the wound that was stitched up, and burned badly. Whiskey had explained what she'd done in a guilty voice, though it was the only thing she could think of.

There was the black and thick oil leaking out of the wound, but it wasn't blood and wasn't leaving completely. It just leaked out and then was sucked back in, like it was going along with Luffy's ragged breaths. He had an oxygen mask on, covering a lot of his face considering they weren't sized for children. Children weren't on this ship usually.

When Whitebeard entered, the commanders turned to him to see a grave expression on his face. "How is he?" the captain asked in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb Luffy's sleep. The only ones being loud were the other children, crying uncontrollably. Ace's shoulders were on fire, but didn't spread anywhere else.

"He's in critical condition," Whiskey replied immediately. "He might not make it through the night. If he does, then I believe he has a good chance at surviving. We need his powers to kick in and heal him, but he's lost a lot of blood." Another sob wracked out of the twelve year olds' bodies.

"At least he got Teach back," Thatch said, unable to help having wet eyes, though he would be strong for the boys and not cry. Haruta was having the same issue. "He's destroyed his legs. Teach will never walk again."

Whitebeard sighed. "About that… we must have a meeting, sons. One of you may stay with the boys," he said in a soft voice. It didn't betray the world of hurt he was feeling. Thatch offered to stay, predictably, and walked to the boys, putting his hand on both of their heads. He knelt behind them, and Ace's flames dimmed when Thatch gathered both of them into hugs.

Marco was reluctant to leave, but he needed to know the situation. "I will calm our brothers and not let them know what happened," Fossa offered. All of the commanders were in the infirmary, and even Kingdew looked sad. Not as much as some of the others, but he never wanted Luffy _killed. _Just not on this ship.

The thirteen commanders, minus Thatch and Fossa, headed to the meeting room, all silent except for a sniffling Haruta. None of them could get the sight of Luffy's small and bloody body out of their heads. None of the nurses cleaned him anywhere other than the wound since they didn't want to move him and risk opening up the stitches.

Everyone felt heavy as they sat on in their chairs, Haruta laying his upper body on the table and hiding his face in his arms. Marco was feeling devastated, too, but was being strong for his brothers and not showing it. He'd never forgive himself if Luffy died. He was the one who took the boys onto their ship, after all.

Whitebeard took a few moments of silence, before he said, "Teach has commited more than the attempted murder of young Luffy. I asked him why he had done such a thing, and he explained to me, in what I believe was honest." He took a deep breath and released it as a sigh, bringing his big hands together on the table. "He told me he was never part of our family, and he killed Luffy because he has eaten the devil fruit Teach has apparently been looking for for decades. Since he joined this crew.

"He also confessed to not batting an eye at killing myself or any of you. He hinted that that was the reason he wanted the dark-dark fruit in the first place. Calm, my sons. We need to think rationally. There will be time to make Teach pay later."

Some of the pirates had tears in their eyes at one of their brothers betraying them and saying such horrible things. "I'm so sorry, my sons," the captain said sincerely.

"We're gonna kill him, right?" Namur asked in a dark voice, full of hate. "It's the rule. I know he didn't kill a crewmate, even if Luffy feels like he is, but he admitted to killing you or someone else on the crew in the future."

"Yes, the rule is execution and this applies to the rule," Whitebeard replied. Haruta sniffled and said, "_Good." _Then his face crumpled. "I hope Luffy will be okay."

Marco's face showed guilt. "It's my fault if he does. I brought him on the ship, exposed him to Teach."

"Marco, do _not _blame yourself for the actions of a traitor we thought was our family. No one could have seen this coming. Even I myself had been fooled. You will not blame yourself," Whitebeard said in a surprisingly strong voice. Marco didn't reply, but everyone could tell he didn't believe his father's words.

"I know me and Thatch wanted them to stay. If Luffy doesn't make it, Ace and Sabo would never forgive us," Haruta said in a hush.

"We do not know that, but it is likely. We've done what we can to save Luffy, and all we can do now is hope that something out there deems Luffy deserves to live more time. We can do nothing but trust in his power and our nurses."

Curiel said, "Whiskey was the right person to treat him. Even if I'm the head doctor, I would never have thought fast enough. It is good we've studied Luffy, or else we wouldn't have known about the alcohol."

"...Pops? If Luffy does make it, can we have them join?" Haruta questioned quietly. "I don't care if you don't like him, Kingdew. He's a good kid and deserves a loving home, which is what we can give him and his brothers." He said the last part in a harsh voice, and Kingdew didn't reply.

"Pops has wanted them permanently from the start, Haruta," Marco said. "No one else could tell, but I've seen the recruitment of each person aboard this ship. There's no need to ask." Any other time, the commanders who supported it would have jumped up in cheers, but now it was only a few weak smiles. No one was in the mood to be happy. They were all angry on the surface, but devastated underneath. "Should we investigate if there are any other traitors on the ship?" Jozu asked in a cold voice.

"If there were any, they would most likely be Teach's closest bro- former-friends," Jiru said. "Men in the second division. We really need to fill that seat. He might have gotten caught if the second division member was still here."

"**That idiot left to be with Roger. **We have no one smart enough or skilled enough to fill that seat that isn't already a commander. Marco has been stretched too thin for too long. This is not a jab at your competence, son. It is just the truth. It was wrong to put you in charge of both divisions." Marco nodded, though he thought he should have seen it long ago. He knew Pops was thinking the same thing. He should have spotted the deceit long, long ago.

"When will the execution be?" Curiel questioned. They all stiffened automatically at the thought of kill their own, but it faded quickly.

"When we know whether Luffy will make it or not. Depending on the outcome, we will change how he is executed. It is death regardless, but we are not overly cruel pirates. Unless Luffy dies," Whitebeard replied. "Soon."

-x-

It was a long three hours of waiting and watching for any change. Ace and Sabo had a feeling he wouldn't make it if he hadn't healed already, but Whiskey told them it took awhile for blood cells to multiply to the amount Luffy had before he had been stabbed. Both of the brothers hadn't wanted to hear what happened. Not yet. They didn't want to be devastated _and _furious. They could only hold one right now.

Thatch stayed with them most of the time, opting to not learn about why Teach had done what he'd done. Or tried to do, depending on how Luffy ended up. Thatch wanted to keep his attention on the boys who needed someone to comfort them. They were used to being alone, but not like this.

Ace and Sabo both sat against the wall facing Luffy, Thatch in the middle. They both leaned against him, and he'd rub their backs when one of them broke into tears. The crying was off and on, sometimes they wore blank, resigned masks, while others they cried their hearts out.

"He was so happy here," Ace whispered. "He can't die because of one of you. He can't die being alone. He was alone when he was stabbed. He must have been so scared…" Ace wasn't talking to anyone in particular, mostly himself, but it made Sabo's lip wobble precariously. He kept the tears in.

Tami was monitoring Luffy closely, sitting next to his bed. He had a heart rate monitor on that was beeping steadily. He was breathing normally now, but nothing had changed with the bubbling black substance along his wound. Tami looked up and shouted out. The three others in the room shot up and ran to the other side of his bed. The black oil had changed into sharp blades and stabbed along the wound, slicing the stitches apart and then was absorbed by his skin.

Tami quickly and gently pulled the remains of the stitches out. They slid out easily, and all that was left was a streak of burns and a thin line. The burns were still severe looking. That hadn't changed. Stronger alcohol would have been even worse than the diluted version Whiskey had made.

The head-nurse pushed Tami out of the way and looked at the wound. "The burns are still severe, but the initial wound looks like it won't come apart again." When she went to reach to put burn cream on, black blades shot out of Luffy and tried to stab Whiskey, knocking her back so she didn't get cut.

Ace reached forward, and gently laid a hand on Luffy's side. None of the spikes appeared, and Sabo did the same. They thought it was a fluke and it only happened because someone suddenly touched him, but when Whiskey tried to dab burn cream on, she was almost cut again. Sighing, she handed the burn cream and cotton balls to Ace and Sabo who gently dabbed it along the burn site.

Luffy's body accepted his brothers' touches, but no one else. He didn't wake up for another hour, when he opened his eyes slowly. No one knew he was awake until Sabo glanced up at his face to see his eyes scrunching open. It was bright in the room, and Thatch got up to dim the lights.

"Lu, oh my god, Luffy, you're awake," Ace stutterd, not wanting to shout and hurt Luffy's head. The kid looked to his brothers' faces, and looked confused, slowly bringing his and to the oxygen mask.

"Keep that on, Luffy," Sabo said quietly, caressing his baby brother's cheek. "Can you speak? How do you feel?"

Luffy was thirsty, but didn't say anything about it. "Stomach itches," he said and went to scratch at it. Ace took his hand and kept it from scratching at the burn.

"It's a burn. You can't scratch at it, Lu," Ace said gently. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

"Just the burn. What happened?" he asked, mind foggy after being woken up by being stabbed. Ace and Sabo didn't know whether to tell him, but since everyone had been honest with them, Luffy deserved the truth as well.

Sabo and Ace set on his big bed, since they had to fit people as large as Jozu on it. "A bad man on the crew tried to kill you while you were sleeping. Apparently, you crushed his legs to bits, so you got him back. But, you're okay, that's all that matters," Ace explained, and leaned forward to gently hug him, making sure he didn't jostle the injured boy too much, and made sure he didn't touch the burn. Luckily, it was thin since Whiskey only dabbed the very outsides.

Thatch had left to tell the commanders and captain that Luffy had woken up. Luffy asked, "Why? I didn't do anything, I swear."

"Shh," Ace said gently, pushing the hair out of Luffy's face. He had been cleaned, so blood wasn't on his face anymore, even if it was crusted in his hair at the hairline. "It wasn't anything you did. All you were doing was sleeping. You've hurt no one, there was no reason for you to be attacked. You did nothing wrong." Even though Ace and Sabo didn't know why, it wasn't anything Luffy had done. At least, not since he was on the ship.

The commanders flooded in, the captain following solemnly. Luffy looked up and noticed that some of them had red eyes, and he wondered if they were crying about him or someone else. "Luffy, you were attacked out of jealousy of a traitor on our ship. It was nothing you did," Marco said immediately. He moved to the side when Whitebeard pushed him gently. Then, he did something that shocked everyone.

He got down on his knees and bowed his head. His sons were in outrage of him bowing to _anyone. _"Silence," he said harshly. "I am sorry to you three. I should have seen his treachery before now. I should have seen it, and Luffy would not have been harmed. You have my deepest apologies."

Marco didn't miss a beat, and got down himself. "We are sorry, as well, Luffy. As commanders, we should have been able to see. We're just as guilty as Pops." The other commanders shared glances and then bowed down themselves.

"We are sorry," Thatch said with a sniffle. Whiskey had tears in her eyes at seeing her captain bow to anyone, but this was not a wrong thing to do. Ace, Sabo and Luffy were shocked.

"I-it's okay," Luffy said in a small voice, shocked at all the people, powerful people, bowing to him.

"It is in no way okay, but thank you for your forgiveness. You are a good child, and we are all glad you are better," Whitebeard said before getting back to his feet with a smile. "Do not worry about the traitor. He will be executed. Death by sea king sounds best. He wished to have the devil fruit Luffy had eaten. Once the owner of a devil fruit dies, the fruit forms somewhere else in the world. Teach expected you to die and to get away with it, and get the fruit once it was reincarnated."

"He wanted Luffy's devil fruit? Why?" Sabo asked in disbelief. He wanted it enough to ruin his relationship with his family? At least, risk it? If Luffy had not fought back, like Thatch said he did, then no one would have known it was him.

"He wished to kill me. The fruit, if it were normal when eaten, can negate devil fruit abilities. Meaning my power would not work on him and he would be able to hurt all of us devil fruit users. There are also other things a normal version can do."

Luffy was confused. "But, wasn't he your son? Didn't he like you?" he asked. Family was supposed to love one another, right? He and his brothers loved each other. Why wouldn't this Teach love his father?

Whitebeard sighed sadly. "Well, we had thought so. Apparently love cannot reach some people, or they do not want it. He was a good actor for a long time. His time is over, as he failed. You are strong, Luffy, and have a strong will. Your wound would have killed anyone else." Luffy's eyes widened and he looked down at the burn and small red line that went through it. He knew it had hurt very badly, but it was fuzzy about what happened.

"But... how?" Luffy wondered.

"Haki. He covered the dagger in haki so it would negate your power protecting you," Marco explained. "Considering you're immune to sea stone, I just assumed you would be to haki, too. Apparently not."

"Enough of this dark talk. Whiskey, how can Luffy eat?" Whitebeard asked. At the mention of food, Luffy's stomach growled. The head nurse, her emotions reigned back in, said Luffy could only eat soft foods on his stomach, since she didn't know how healed it was.

"I'll make the best damn applesauce you've ever had," Thatch declared. Luffy frowned, not liking that he couldn't have solid food. He felt fine besides being tired and his burn hurting. His burn was on the outside. But maybe there were still problems inside of him.

"I don't want to leave him, but could we go beat the shit out of Teach sometime before he's executed?" Ace asked with a dangerous look and voice. Luffy had never heard him so angry, even when he was first kidnapped by the boy.

Whitebeard was silent for a moment, regarding the child. Finally, he answered. "Yes, only with someone else in the room. Teach is strong physically. He is in a lot of pain from Luffy's attack, but would it make you feel better to hurt your brother's attacker?" When Ace and Sabo both nodded, Whitebeard agreed to let them, but not today. Today was for comforting and staying with their brother.

Sabo's eyes flicked from pirate to pirate, trying to read their expressions. Some were clearly still very angry, but others were just sad. But Sabo needed to ask. "Are the rest of your crew trustworthy?" he asked in a low voice.

"I trust the commanders with my life. They are trustworthy. We will be doing interrogations inside the second division just in case," Whitebeard replied in a strong voice, full of conviction. Sabo just nodded, and settled next to Luffy, Ace on the other side. Everyone knew neither would be leaving him anytime soon.

Luffy was sleepy, and Whiskey told him he needed more rest. He would be woken up in a few hours to eat. Luffy nodded and laid back in the bed, content to share his pillow with both of his brothers. As long as they were close, he'd have no nightmares.

The youngest fell asleep rather quickly, completely on his back, while Ace and Sabo framed him, stilling and saying nothing so he could sleep. They'd do all they could to help Luffy heal, since they weren't there when he needed them most.


	13. The Lasting Effects

**phoenix: Would be very satisfying.**

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**I'm failing my midterm in another open window, but I have to post today since it's a day late. So I'm taking a break for now. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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"That was hard," Haruta said when they left the infirmary to let the boy(s) get some rest. Jozu looked to the side, and asked, "Which part?"

The smaller commender sighed, and put his hadns behind his head. "Talking badly about the traitor, watching Pops bow to someone else, seeing Luffy ill like that, seeing Ace and Sabo so angry, staring at Pops with hate. Even if that hate wasn't directed at him. All of it."

Marco turned to his two brothers, and said, "Pops was in the right to bow. It was our job to make sure our crew is trustworthy and we royally fucked up. They deserved as sincere apology as we could give, even if it wounded our pride a bit."

Whitebeard laughed, though it wasn't joyous like usual. "There is nothing wrong with bowing when necessary. I was not bowing to an enemy, but to three children that were under my care, that I failed. There is nothing wrong with what I, and you all, did. I was proud when you moved aside your pride and bowed as well," the captain said in a triumphant brag. "Looks like I didn't fail on all of my children."

Marco and Thatch both stopped and turned to look at Pops, having been the only two to hear that last murmur. "You haven't failed any of us, Pops. We're adults, we aren't those three. We know enough to know what right and wrongs are. You may be our father, but Teach is not a child that simply made a mistake. He betrayed us, was rotten from the start. None of us noticed, it's on all of us," Marco said in a determined voice.

"Enough. I don't wish to talk about it anymore," the captain said, though he wasn't angry at his children for trying to comfort them. But, it did wound his pride more than bowing, having his children have to be strong for him. It was the other way around, always. He was the father, the mentor.

Maybe Marco was right. Maybe it wasn't his fault, but it was still on his decision that Luffy almost died. **He recruited Teach as a kid**. Surely, he couldn't have been rotten the whole time? But, Whitebeard had been a loving and nurturing father to all of his children, so he couldn't see a reason Teach would want to kill him other than to look strong in the world's eyes.

What a foolish thing to do. Edward Newgate would never understand those that put _anything _before their family. He may be an odd pirate, not caring for treasure or the One Piece, but he would never understand people who wished to be alone.

He glanced down and looked at Marco, who didn't look happy, but didn't look upset. Comparing the Marco he found all those decades ago with who he was now, Whitebeard felt nothing other than pride for him and his growth. Maybe Whitebeard didn't do so bad. After all, he made Marco learn how to smile.

That was enough to make him feel he had been a good father to his sons. Teach aside, he was as good a father as he could strive to be. And he would continue to do so, hopefully going to teach those children to smile just like Marco. Especially Luffy, to have him and his family heal the scars in his heart.

-x-

Marco stood in front of his former-brother's cell, staring at the traitor with flat eyes. He wondered how someone could be so rotten that he'd kill his own family. Or at least, plotted to. Marco wanted to torture him now, but he would save it for Ace and Sabo. After all, their brother was the one who was almost murdered.

Teach was unconscious, and Marco looked at his wounds with absolute pity but also sick satisfaction. Luffy's power had not just destroyed his legs. Marco had been a pirate a long time, and had seen many gruesome and disturbing things, but really, out of his forty some on years, never had he seen something so utterly agonizing.

His bones were shredded, the flesh that was left over was dangling by strips of muscle. The bones stabbed through what was the mush of the fat in his legs. It looked like a giant dog got ahold of him and he was the chew toy. And it stunk, too, meaning it was getting infected fairly quickly. Maybe there was something in Luffy's monster form that added something to the injury.

Marco hadn't been harmed while inside Luffy, but he was also a phoenix and immune to most injuries and illnesses. He had his flames out to light the brig, since there were no lights along the walls, as no one was ever down there. He was the only one, staring at the unconscious traitor, trying to figure out why he would do this.

Marco remembered meeting him like it was yesterday. **Teach had been a child himself, twelve years old. An orphan, family gone and dead. **Marco had been seventeen, Thatch already joined and best friends with Marco. They hadn't had anyone younger than Marco since the crew had been formed, but they welcomed Teach.

The phoenix zoan had seen some of himself in Teach, some of his old self. If Pops hadn't agreed to take him in, then Marco knew he would have asked Pops to. To help heal the orphan boy. Apparently, he had been unable to. Teach had to have been rotten from the start, but as far as Marco could remember, he _could not _come up with a time that he felt Teach was not a good brother.

They got along well, and Teach seemed truly happy on the crew. But, apparently Teach had been fake from the start. How would a young boy be so rotten from that young of an age? Even Luffy, who is eight and has blood on his hands, is not rotten inside. Did something happen to Teach when he was even younger than twelve? Marco had been with Whitebeard for seven years when Teach came. The crew had been around twenty members back then, before Whitebeard had a well known name and grew out in the New World seas.

Marco shook his head, not wishing to feel pity over this fool. He wasn't down there to just look at him and think sad things. Marco tossed a bucket of cold water on Teach. He woke up with a start and cried out as his mushed up legs were jostled.

"We've decided your punishment for your crime and the truth you so foolishly told Pops. Death by sea king. Look forward to being chewed up even further than whatever the hell is left of your legs. Look forward to it. And you won't be getting any food, water or medical care. You disgusting pig," Marco said in a flat voice, glaring down at Teach, who was snarling at him.

"Don't know where you went wrong, but you're a stain on Pops' name. Once the crew finds out your sins, I'm sure you'll be visited from of your former-friends. You see, after Ace and Sabo get a chance at you, we're opening up your cell so anyone can come in. And not to _help you. _Fucker," and Marco turned around and strode out before Teach could say anything and anger Marco further. He shut the metal door, turning the lock with a grating sound.

Marco headed to dinner, not with an appetite, to find almost everyone were picking at their food. Hearing of Teach's betrayal and real reason for being with them had been a blow to everyone. Some took it better than others, but based on reactions, no one knew the truth about Teach. What kind of guy he was. People were happy to hear Luffy was awake, so that was a relief. No one was mad at him for being the target of Teach's betrayal.

Ace was at the counter, trying to pick up dinner for all three boys. Luffy's dinner was warm but not hot chicken noodle soup that Thatch made. Marco overheard Ace asking for three bowls. They didn't want Luffy to feel left out. Thatch cooed, made Ace look a bit embarrassed before the chef got out a tray for Ace to carry to the infirmary, where Sabo was.

"How is he feeling?" Marco asked Ace when he was on his way out. Ace frowned and looked at the floor. "Ace?"

"He's scared of anyone that isn't a nurse or a commander," the kid replied, voice a little cold. He then walked past Marco and to the infirmary. Marco swore, though he couldn't blame Luffy for being afraid. He was stabbed in the stomach while he was _asleep. _At his most vulnerable. The first mate sighed and went to get his own food, bringing it to the commanders' table and sitting next to the captain, like usual.

Everyone was quiet. Much too quiet for the Whitebeard crew. But, no one could blame anyone else for not being chipper and talkative. Curiel came into the meal a little late, frowning deeply. When he sat down with his own food, Marco asked _him _how Luffy was.

"Physically, he is almost completely healed bubt the burns. The burns will be severe and sensitive for awhile based on their rate of healing so far, compared to everything else, but it's mental that I'm concerned about. And everyone else should be, too. His powers are reacting to his emotions. Anyone who isn't Whiskey coming near him as slashed at by his power.

"Apparently, when Whiskey needed to put cream on his burns, the black was coming out and stabbing at her until Ace and Sabo did it. I doubt he'd mean to hurt anyone on purpose, but we need to be careful around him now. Sabo told me Luffy had never had anything like this happen to him. The poor kid was crying by the time I left the room." everyone at the table frowned deeply. Would Luffy trust them again? Well, even if he didn't trust all of them, they could work on it. They would just need to be careful and gentle with their actions towards him.

"And he's fine with Ace and Sabo?" Haruta asked, sad but glad he was a commander, and Luffy wasn't wary or afraid of any of them. Curiel nodded.

Curiel sighed. "When Ace got up to leave to get them both some dinner, Luffy freaked out. I think he'll be much more clingy to them now. After all, he was alone when Teach attacked."

"Well, we won't be letting them leave any time soon. Now they aren't ready to be on their own if they wanted to. And we're the ones responsible for Luffy's attack. Teach was on our crew and ship when he went after the child," Whitebeard said darkly, fully willing to keep Luffy on the ship regardless of any instability that might remain after his body fully healed. Until then, Whitebeard knew himself and the others would always feel guilty for what happened to him.

Why, oh why, couldn't they see what kind of guy Teach was for those 28 years he was on the crew? It was a disgrace.

-x-

"Luffy, I brought food," Ace announced when he entered the room and went behind their curtain. Luffy was now on a different bed, since the other had to be cleaned from all of the blood. Luffy was leaning against Sabo's chest in his lap as the blonde scrubbed the blood gently out of Luffy's hairline. Sabo stopped and moved Luffy back to resting against the bed, hands so gentle, like Luffy was made of glass.

The three ate the soup, and Luffy trusted Thatch to not poison his food. The commanders were okay, besides the grumpy looking one, and Thatch and Marco were especially his favorites. He was very surprised when the pirates, and the captain, bowed to them. It made him really feel they were upset and sorry about what happened.

The three ate the soup hungrily, though Luffy was ordered to go slow by the nurse, and reminded that he was still wounded, even on the inside. So, he ate slowly. Too slowly, but he did it. He drank slowly as well, only allowed water right now. The nurse had fixed him up well, so he trusted her. He was irritated he had to get burned, but she apologized and said it was the only way to close the wound. Luffy believed her sincerity. And she'd left him alone with his brothers, trusting they would monitor his health.

They were behind a curtain because the moment an unfamiliar face walked into the room, he curled up and hid his face, breathing heavily. A panic attack, and Whiskey helped his brothers help him through it. After that, Whiskey moved their bed and put a curtain up so Luffy didn't need to see everyone that entered.

He didn't say it, but the scariest part of seeing the people coming in the room was seeing their silhouettes, since the hall was brighter than the inside. When Whitebeard had come, his size made it clear who he was, and it didn't make Luffy afraid. He trusted the man, even if he didn't trust all of his sons anymore.

"Do you want me to get a book and read to you?" Sabo asked while Luffy ate the rest of Sabo's, as he and Ace weren't hungry. Not yet, their appetite was still absent.

"Okay. A happy book," Luffy answered. Sabo walked out of the infirmary before sprinting to the library, frantically looking for a happy book before sprinting back to the infirmary, not wanting Luffy to get scared with him away, even if he had Ace with him. He raced back in record time, and climbed back up onto the large bed.

"Got one. It's fairy tales," Sabo said. Sabo had made up plenty of stories over the years to entertain his brothers, but fairy tales would be his favorite since he could make up all the creatures and places he wanted to.

Luffy cozied under the sheets in between Ace and Sabo, holding one of their hands in his. He looked nervous but once Sabo started speaking his eyes weren't so wide, and he listened contently to the story.

Sabo felt bad when he saw Luffy fighting sleep as hard as possible. Ace was worried as well, and put his hand on Luffy's head. "We won't let anyone hurt you while you sleep, Lu," Ace said kindly. This gave Luffy reassurance and he drifted to sleep, though he still gripped his brothers' hands tightly even as he slept. Ace and Sabo were silent for awhile, both lost in their own dark thoughts.

Ace finally spoke first. "It's been him protecting us from the start. From being killed when we first met. From the people at that facility just by being with him. Those guys in the forest, who threatened us and we could do nothing. And we failed him. We let him get stabbed in his sleep, and didn't even know until he was already being treated. We're failures, Sabo," Ace lamented, his face crumpling in shame and regret.

Sabo didn't know what to say, since he fully agreed with Ace's words. They had failed Luffy big time, almost lost him because of it. Sure, they couldn't have predicted Teach attacking him, but they could have stayed with him while he slept. But they were too busy, doing what they thought would help them pay Luffy back for all he'd done for them. As they trained to protect him, he was attacked.

Marco had told them they'd be sleeping in a different room since blood and chunks of Teach's legs were all over the place, making the room stink and uninhabitable. Luffy had to fight by himself, even after he was gutted. Whiskey said that he was stabbed at least twice.

Finally, Sabo spoke. "Then… we'll never make that mistake again. We'll all learn haki, you'll learn how to use your new devil fruit, and I'll become strong in my own way. Then, he won't need to protect us and we won't need to protect him. We'll be equals, after all this time. I don't want to get stronger just to protect him and you. I want us all to be able to protect one another, but mostly ourselves. In the long run, we're not always going to be there to protect one another. That's why we should get stronger together," he said in a determined voice. His voice and face were hard, but his thumb continued to stroke Luffy's hand.

"I thought you wanted to protect Luffy," Ace said, though he agreed with what Sabo said. It made sense to protect each other and be good enough to not need to. None of them wanted to worry about the other.

"I did. Until he got attacked and I realized we won't always be around each other to be protected or be the protector. I don't want to have to worry about you more than I naturally always will," Sabo said in a hard voice. "I want to trust my brothers to be okay when I'm not present." Ace looked at the hand he was holding. They had always thought Luffy was invincible, and if he had been awake, he may have been able to get the upper hand over Teach before anything happened. There was no way to get around being asleep without knowing haki like Izo talked about.

"We'll get stronger, Sabo. All three of us. Until then, we're safe here. We can train and be taught, keep Luffy safe from anyone and everyone who will want to hurt him. Keep him safe while he recovers mentally from the attack. After that, we can leave if we want. I doubt Whitebeard wants us here indefinitely. It's our presence that made one of his men betray him, after all," Ace said, sagging against the bedframe and under the covers a bit more.

Sabo looked at Ace skeptically. "You can't be blaming _us_ for _Teach's_ betrayal. He was rotten since the beginning if he betrayed in the first place." The brothers glared at each other.

"Ace, you can't let your low self-esteem win over common sense. Are you saying it's Luffy's fault that he was fed that fruit when he was young? Because if you're blaming you and I, you're putting the most blame on the victim in all of this." Sabo was giving him an angry look as he looked pointedly down to Luffy's sleeping face. Ace deflated. His cheeks colored, and he turned his head away from Sabo. They didn't speak for the rest of the night until Luffy woke up and needed to use the bathroom.

For less discomfort or pain the hospital bed was wheeled closer to the entrance of the little bathroom patients and the nurses used attached to one end of the infirmary. Every step Luffy took was painful, making the burn on his stomach ache. He was sure his insides were healed, but had a feeling the burn would stay sensitive a long time.

Once he was done, Luffy fell asleep again, nestled between his brothers. After the first nightmare, Ace and Sabo alternated watch and sleeping. The nightmares were more like flashbacks, only more detailed than Luffy actually saw. He hadn't seen anyone before the pain in his abdomen fired off. He hadn't even noticed Teach in the room until it was much too late.

In his dream, he woke up earlier and watched in slow motion as he was stabbed over and over, more than just twice. After that, Luffy waking up screaming, whichever brother was awake would gently awaken the boy if he showed signs of a nightmare.

Luckily, in the morning Luffy didn't remember any of the nightmares. "They were just blurs," he explained to Ace the next morning when he asked if Luffy's nightmares had been very bad. "I don't remember much about them."

Sabo ruffled his hair with a smile. "Then don't think about it. We don't want you to remember bad things." A few commanders came into the infirmary to see how Luffy was feeling. Ace and Sabo could tell everyone still blamed themselves for Luffy's attack. While Luffy insisted he didn't blame anyone but Teach the night before in private, it was clear that the pirates didn't feel the same way.

Ace and Sabo wished they were able to put it past them, not blaming anyone when Ace and Sabo blamed themselves for not being there, but blamed the pirates for not noticing the kind of person Teach was until too late. But, neither of them voiced this opinion, not even to Luffy.

Luffy may have had a violent past and violent behavior, on this ship he was a different person. While he'd never been inherently bad, at least to his brothers, he had been flippant with people's lives. After leaving his familiar living place, and being informed that what he'd been doing was wrong, Luffy did his best to change, and he blossomed once he was surrounded by kind people. It was found that he was patient and forgiving at heart, something that Ace and Sabo hadn't known until they were on the Moby Dick.

The two older brothers also knew how much it meant to Luffy to not be compared to a demon anymore. Not after everyone used it as an insult and he found out that it was only called that way to scare people off or intimidate them.

Their brother had changed a lot in the last couple of weeks, and they hoped the trauma wouldn't change him for the worse.

"Luffy, can we talk to Ace and Sabo for a moment while Whiskey looks at your injury?" Marco asked patiently. When Luffy's eyes widened and they could all see panic bloom on Luffy's now-expressive face, Marco said, "They will only be in the corner with me. No one else will be here but the commanders and nurses."

The youngest looked very uneasy and fearful, and Ace and Sabo insisted they stay with Luffy. And Luffy didn't let them go even when Marco confessed that the conversation was about Teach.

"I still wanna be with Ace and Sabo," the eight year old said, and covered his ears with his hands. "I won't listen but I wanna stay with Ace and Sabo." Marco gave him a smile and asked for Haruta to get some wax they could use as earplugs. The feeling of them going into Luffy's ears tickled and felt weird, but he didn't argue or fight with it, perfectly happy to not hear anything about his attacker.

It felt strange for everyone to talk about Luffy like he wasn't sitting right in front of them, but the boy couldn't hear a thing. He had no idea what they were talking about. "I'm sorry you two, but you can't take out any anger on Teach. I went in this morning and found him already dead." Ace and Sabo looked shocked, and Marco was frowning deeply. "It is very unsatisfying. We even get to let anyone go at it. An infection from his wounds killed him during the night. Luffy's self-defense move of destroying his legs were left to fester in the cold and dirty brig."

Ace and Sabo glanced at the other commanders in the room, all of whom looked sour except Thatch, who was showing Luffy a trick with a coin, and could feel their frustration and disappointment.

"The good thing about it, is Luffy was the one to avenge himself. It was his injury that got Teach killed. We tossed his corpse into the sea. Still got eaten by a sea king, like we planned, just not alive," Marco explained. "There's nothing else to do about the situation other than help Luffy heal."

Both of the boys were disappointed, but happy Luffy was the one to, figuratively, get the last laugh. The three all looked to Luffy, who was looking happy while watching Thatch do easy "magic" tricks. His creepy tattoo had gradually stopped looking creepy once everyone got used to it. Now it was just there. It didn't detract anything from his face or expression. The Whitebeards could only hope it was thanks to their support that he wasn't uncomfortable and nervous, face blank as a mask and looking a bit uncomfortable.

Everything was going fine with Luffy until the ear plugs were taken out. Only a few seconds after the ear plugs were pulled out, the closet door with medications in it creaked open, Wendy sorting through pills inside. The sound reminded Luffy of the sound he heard before the pain, before he woke up. He slapped his hands over his ears and started shaking.

Ace and Sabo both ran to him and asked what was wrong. "N-noise. Sounds the same," he whispered out. The commanders searched the room for any sound before locating the only thing other than the machines making any sound. Marco shot forward and stopped the door from opening. The creaking noise ended, and Luffy slowly calmed down.

"S-sorry," Luffy said, feeling embarrassed.

Marco stood in front of Luffy and gently took his shoulders in his soft and warm hands. He made eye contact with Luffy, and emphatically said, "There is nothing to be sorry about when it comes to trauma. _You _didn't choose this, the trauma was inflicted on you by someone else. Never feel ashamed of trauma, just strive to overcome it." Luffy's lower lip wobbled and he nodded. "The bad man is gone, and will not get you again," Marco said suddenly.

"Gone… like dead?" Luffy asked slowly, not wanting to think about Teach, but he needed to know. Marco nodded.

"He's gone forever." Luffy nodded, tears falling from his eyes.

"You're safe here, Luffy. We're doing investigations to find any more traitors, but I think that if there was any accomplices, they would have tried to break Teach out or flee. They would know, that now we were aware, they'd be found out. Nobody is going to hurt you on this ship, not anymore. You and your brothers are safe here and can stay as long as you want," Marco explained. Luffy nodded, wiping his teary eyes with his fists like a young child.

"Are you mad?" Luffy asked after a moment of silence.

"What would we be mad about, Luffy?" Thatch asked in bewilderment.

"I killed your friend," Luffy pointed out in a quiet voice. Thatch looked at him sadly, but then gave a small, reassuring smile.

"He hurt you first. You acted in self-defense. You were in the right and he was in the wrong," Thatch said in a decisive voice. "And he was no longer our friend, if he ever was one in the first place."

"Nobody blames you for Teach's actions," Marco added. "Not even his closest former-friends. Everyone unanimously agrees that he was wrong to do what he did, and that you are innocent in this. It isn't like you killed him on purpose, you specifically didn't. I don't know if you realized it at the time, but you could have easily killed him, but only went for the legs.

"He did die by an injury you gave him, but his life was ultimately ended by something out of your control. You didn't give him a fatal infection, the brig did. The germs down there festered in his wounds and took his life." Luffy was nodded along.

"I just… I don't wanna kill anymore," the boy said quietly. Ace and Sabo could see the pain in the commanders' faces for such a young child saying those words.

"You don't have to kill anymore, but accidents do happen, Luffy. And there are times where you need to prioritize your life safety over your values," Thatch stressed. Luffy nodded and wiped his runny nose, sniffling loudly. Ace and Sabo had teary eyes, too. At Luffy's growth. He really did bloom under love, and he'd gotten a small dose of it back in the old place, but here, love came from everywhere, not just aimed at him.

"You're a real good kid, Luffy. We'll help you through the trauma as best as we can," Thatch said with a grin. "And it's not a bad thing to cry or get scared. Even we pirates cry and get scared sometimes." The other commanders in the room nodded with smiles aimed at Luffy, who slowly gave a smalls smile, too. One of more relief than anything else.


	14. Losing Control For The First Time

**RIAEVANS: You're welcome! I always do my best to post on time, though it can be a day late if posting dates overlap.**

**phoenix: lol, that's the point. They didn't get to get revenge for Luffy and it makes them all frustrated. But at least Luffy was the one to take revenge, even if he didn't mean for it to happen that way.**

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**Getting closer to the end of the semester and I can't wait for my programming class to be over. But don't worry, even when I have midterms, tests, projects and labs, I'm still writing stories. I can't help but not! Enjoy~**

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When Marco came out of the brig and went to Whitebeard's room, his expression must have been angry. The captain had sat up immediately, seeing Marco in the doorway with his arms crossed. Marco was rarely angry or irate. Well, at least when he wasn't hiding it away.

"What is it?" Whitebeard asked, pulling the blanket aside and standing up, sensing something was deeply bothering his son. The captain knew he hadn't slept well at all, and assumed Marco hadn't either. Marco entered the room, and closed the door behind him. It was still quite early and most of the other commanders were asleep.

"Teach is dead. I think infection got him. It's not pretty down there, and it reeks," Marco said in a toneless voice, his face a blank mask that the captain hates to see.

"I see." There wasn't really anything to say. Marco sighed, looking out the windows at the rising sun, which was peeking over the horizon and changed the color of the sky rapidly.

"I'm gonna clean it up before most of the crew wakes. No one needs to see it. We may all collectively hate Teach now, but no one wants to see him in that state. Well, see anybody in that state," Marco explained. He took a deep breath, and went to exit the room and close the door behind him.

Whitebeard was there too fast, keeping the large door open. "I'm coming, too. What kind of father would I be to let my son dispose of his _former _brother alone. And as much as I detest him now, Teach was a son of mine for decades. I need to at least see him go." Marco nodded and the two left the commanders' hall and headed downstairs to the brig, passing by the sectioned off crime-scene. The blood on the floor had been scrubbed away, luckily not soaking into the wood.

The evidence of Luffy's attemped murder was something nobody wanted to be reminded of, so having the blood not staying was a good thing. The three were still in the infirmary sleeping, the two assumed. They didn't know how Luffy had slept, but imagined it hadn't been a very peaceful one.

Both were familiar with trauma and associated nightmares, especially Marco. When they reached the brig, Marco told Pops to plug his nose as he opened the door, and the smell of rotting human flesh was festering inside the small space. Whitebeard covered his nose, as it was too much for even he. He'd been around dead bodies many times before, but not rotting ones that had been enclosed to fester.

Marco pulled out a huge trashbag from the cupboard outside of the brig which held cleaning supplies and weapons. "Oh, jeez," Whitebeard muttered when they got a look at Teach's body. It was horrendous, and Whitebeard had trouble looking.

"Funny how we care more about what happens to him when he's a rotting corpse and not a rotten human being," Marco said humorlessly. "Please help me get him inside, Pops." There were no gloves big enough for the captain's hands, so he had two trashbags over them.

Lifting Teach's body was easy for the large man, but far from pleasant. Being up closer to him was even worse, and Marco immediately closed the bag the second Teach was inside. He then went and got another bag to double bag it. They'd have to bring it through the ship, and hopefully it wouldn't make the entire place smell.

The two had kept the door of the brig shut so the smell didn't move to other parts of the ship, but they had no way to air out the space. Hopefully, they wouldn't use the brig again anytime soon. They still had to clean up the left over flesh and blood in Teach's cell. They couldn't leave it there or the smell would get worse.

Whitebeard had the bag over his shoulder, both men silent and in their own thoughts. They were still angry and hateful towards Teach and his deceit, but it was still hard to carry his dead body out on deck and toss it over the side of the ship. A sea king appeared and ate the body, plastic bag and all.

Eventually, the two men returned to their rooms to be alone, not saying a thing but sharing a tired look.

-x-

Luffy had regular panic attacks whenever someone entered the room that he didn't know well. The commanders and his brothers were patient with him. The pirates knew how to handle panic attacks well. After all, some of them had dark pasts and knew how it felt personally. The boy stayed in the infirmary for another week. His burn healed slowly, but it was healing. They all knew he'd have those scars for at least a few years.

The ship was feeling down, still, about Teach's betrayal, but also still very angry, and there was no way to quell the anger in a satisfying way since Teach died himself, he wasn't killed on the spot.

"Breathe: one, two, three," Marco said slowly to Luffy once he had a panic attack about the lights being turned on in the infirmary without being prepared. Luffy had learned to not apologize for having them anymore, constantly being told he did not need to apologize. He eventually stopped, and everyone was glad. It wasn't his fault and they didn't want him to feel guilty for it.

Luffy's breathing calmed and he closed his eyes, listening to Marco and his brothers speak in quiet tones. The panic attack was over, and he was calmed down enough to have lunch. He was allowed to have solids now, but nothing that could upset his stomach like spicy food.

On the day Luffy was released, the newspaper had an interesting article on the first page. The boys were sitting at the table, Luffy in between his brothers who were surrounded by commanders. The youngest was nervous about all of the people in the room. Though he didn't want to be in there, he wanted to be brave and get over his trauma, no matter if it was hard. Very hard.

Marco had the newspaper in front of him, and when he unfolded it after finished his food, he choked on his water before swallowing it and coughing once. Everyone turned to him to see his eyes were wide and he looked troubled before smiling in a way that didn't reach his eyes. The boys turned, wondering what the problem was. Sabo was rubbing his hand on Luffy's back, since he was startled with the sudden noise.

"Son, what is the problem?" Whitebeard questioned, putting his spiked coffee jug down.

"Looks like the marines finally put out something about our boys. After weeks of nothing, and it looks like Smoker and G5 survived," Marco said and turned the newspaper so everyone could read it but Ace and Luffy. So, Sabo read the title to them.

"'The Whitebeard pirates have reached a new low, taking children aboard, who were so scared they hid from them'," Sabo said. "Apparently, they didn't understand Luffy destroying one of their men's hand?"

Haruta grumbled about it, saying, "We didn't kidnap them, Luffy kidnapped one of us, and now they're here willingly." No one liked being accused of kidnapping the boys because it wasn't true. If they wished to leave, they were welcome to even if no one thought it was a good idea, including all three children. Whitebeard hadn't officially offered them to join, not wanting to take things too fast.

Marco sighed and grumbled as well. "Stupid World Governement. At least they don't have photos or names. And no one clicked that Luffy has attacked and killed marines before?"

"Well, maybe because he was always in his devil fruit form. Luffy, did you ever show your real body when on a job?" Thatch questioned. Luffy shook his head.

"They told me not to. I was either in full form or halfway. Said it was dangerous if they knew what I looked like," Luffy explained around his pancake.

"Well, at least those bastards did something right," Vista commented.

Ace was looking very grumpy. "You didn't kidnap us, what the hell? Are the marines just stupid or something? And Luffy hurt them, why would they care about our safety? Screw them," he ranted quietly. Marco folded the paper so he didn't have to see the stupid article.

He knew that Ace had the wrong idea about this. "Rest assured, they don't care about your safety. They just want to slander our name." The commanders nodded in agreement, knowing that was the type of thing the marines and World Government loved to do. "Our allies will be confused but will know we have no ill intent. Well, most of us. Teach is a different case."

"What about that woman on the G5 crew? Didn't she seem like she cared?" Sabo questioned.

Namur said, "She's got to be the only exception. Most marines do not care about anyone but themselves. They're selfish and cruel. Pirates don't have slaves, but the World Government does nothing to help slaves be free. They are ruled over by the Celestial Dragons, cruel nobles who do whatever they please, including killing anyone they want on a whim."

Luffy looked down, feeling ashamed that he once did the same thing. "They know what they do is wrong. That's the difference between you and them, Luffy," Thatch said in a strong voice. Luffy nodded slowly, still feeling bad.

"I don't like that they said you kidnapped us. Everyone's really nice, so they shouldn't say bad things about you," Luffy mumbled, though those around them could hear. "Even after I did bad things, you kept me. I don't like them, not at all." By the end he sounded quite angry.

Ace put his hand on Luffy's head with a smile. "We all know. They're good people, but the marines clearly don't see them that way."

Haruta sighed. "The marines will always look at pirates with rose colored glasses. Even though we don't attack anyone for no reason, and take care of our protected islands, they see the word 'pirate' and just think we're all evil. That they're doing 'justice' by trying to take us down," he explained. "It will always be that way. But, we don't see ourselves as evil, so that's all that matters. The marines can believe what they want to. There's no changing their opinion. Best not to worry about it."

Thatch and Marco wished that Ace would have said "us" instead of "they". Oh, those two wanted them to be part of the family already! It had been three weeks only, but they were so attached to the boys. Like they were the sticky substance of Luffy's fruit and the two men couldn't get them off, not that they wished to.

No one walked behind Luffy the entire meal, going around the other sides of the tables. No one asked them to do that, but it was done and the commanders were proud, especially the captain. The commanders hadn't heard a single person utter Teach's name, which was cursed now. No one wanted to acknowledge what happened, wanted to move on.

The commanders still felt guilt over the whole thing, especially Pops, but they didn't show the weakness to their subordinates. They would remain strong for their crew. They would also help Luffy back to how he was before the attack, which would raise morale as well, and was also just the right thing to do.

The boys' room was cleaned and not smelling anymore, but no one expected the boys to return to that place, especially with Luffy's panic attacks. Being in the place where he was almost murdered would not be good for him in the slightest. For now, for Luffy's sake to feel safer, he and his brothers would be sharing the empty second division commander's room.

Like usual, Kingdew was the only one against it. Many of them were irate with the pirate still not liking Luffy even after he had proved he trusted the Whitebeards and hadn't hurt a single person. Not on accident and, more importantly, not on purpose. Kingdew claimed that people just don't change as drastically as Luffy had in such a short amount of time.

"Maybe not adults, but Luffy's still a kid, and he finally has people that truly care about him! Of course he could change under the blanket of care and love!" Thatch had shouted in the middle of the meeting about where they'd be placing the boys.

The others were surprised with the outburst. Not once had Thatch raised his voice in a meeting in a negative way. Maybe in an excited way, but not in anger. "Son, control yourself," Whitebeard scolded lightly. Thatch was still glaring at Kingdew, though, after apologizing for shouting.

Marco closed his eyes and decided to ask the question he knew was on everyone's mind. "Pops, when are we asking them if they'd like to stay permanently?" the first mate questioned. "I know you want them, and I know the majority of _us _want them, so what are we waiting for?" Everyone went silent, staring at Whitebeard, needing and wanting to know.

Whitebeard joined his hands on the table before answering. "I'd like to wait until Luffy is better. I don't want them to stay only because it will help the boy heal physically, mentally and emotionally. I want them to stay because they feel this ship is a home and we can be their family."

The commanders could see where their Pops was coming from, but some disagreed. "Wouldn't having a big family help Luffy heal? Knowing he was wanted for good might help with how he deals with the lasting trauma, and plus, we don't know how long it will take. Don't you think they'll feel we are only keeping them because we feel guilty about one of our own being the one to hurt him?" Thatch asked, showing a rare moment of smartness in the meeting.

Everyone turned their gaze back to Whitebeard. He was quiet while he regarded Thatch. "That is a good point, son. I will think about that and get back to all of you once I decide. For now, we will take care of the brothers and help them take care of Luffy. Not just because we owe them, but because we want them to be family and family helps one another. Meeting adjourned."

-x-

The first night Luffy was able to sleep outside of the hospital and stay out of the infirmary the whole day was one that made him uneasy, but also happy. He was tired of the infirmary, but there were people everywhere. Though the pirates did their best to stay away from Luffy for his own comfort, it wasn't possible in the hallways to stay away from everyone.

When the boys were introduced to their new sleeping quarters, they marveled at the large bedroom with a large bed that could fit all three of them. There was even a bathroom with a shower and small bathtub attached to the room, meaning Ace and Luffy could both shower and not be tired like they were in the bathhouse.

Luffy had expressed his desire to never be so exposed when he was when asleep after being in deep water. It was understandable, and Ace and Sabo said they would do their best to not have it happen again.

They slept on the bed easily, and there was a larger porthole in this room than the previous, letting in moonlight that didn't stream right onto the bed and into their eyes. Ace and Sabo slept on either side of Luffy, and stayed up with him while he tried to sleep.

It was only in the morning that they knew something weird was happening with Luffy's powers. When they were going to be woken up, as they had slept in because they'd stayed up so late with Luffy, trying to get him to relax enough to sleep, Marco knocked on the door, though no one came.

When he cautiously opened the bedroom door, he ran into a black, slippery wall. Luffy's devil fruit powers had been blocking the bedroom door the entire night, and when the older two heard Marco shouting their names in a panicked voice, they turned on the lamp to see the thick darkness was attached to Luffy's foot and was linked to a large block against the door.

The two awake boys gently woke Luffy up, the substance seeped back into his foot, and light flooded in from the hallway. The light was dim in the hallway so it wouldn't scare Luffy like sudden light and silhouettes did now. Marco looked concerned, but Luffy didn't know what the problem was.

"What's wrong?" Luffy questioned. Ace and Sabo didn't keep the information from him. Unlike Ace, who was steadily being able to control not setting on fire, after Luffy's injury he hadn't focused on it but it also didn't happen much, Luffy's power was growing. Maybe harder to control. It was the second time the powers had activated in his sleep. The first was when whiskey was trying to put the burn cream on and Luffy's ability attacked her.

This one was more harmless, unless there had been an emergency and the boys couldn't hear Marco. But, it didn't hurt or attempt to hurt anyone. Just protect Luffy from what he feared, someone coming into the room.

The lock on the door was not in good condition, and the three felt safe enough in the commanders' hallway when they each had observation haki to not lock the door. Well, Luffy felt differently, clearly.

"Are you okay, Luffy?" Marco asked, walking into the room slowly after turning the light on. Luffy nodded.

"Sorry…" he said dejectedly. Marco sat on the bed next to Sabo who was on the left of Luffy.

"There's no need to be sorry. Everyone deals with trauma differently. Devil fruit users often have their powers linked to their mental health. That's why, under stress, sometimes devil fruits react even when the user doesn't want them to," Marco explained, clearly knowing from experience.

"Did Whitebeard have that when I kidnapped you?" Luffy asked uncertainly, hoping he wasn't the cause of any earthquakes, as the boys knew his power was incredibly strong and dangerous. But Marco shook his head.

"No, Pops has complete control over his power. I couldn't say the same for myself for a long time, though. When I was stressed or having nightmares, I'd catch on fire. It's not dangerous fire, but it still woke me up. Jozu has turned to diamond more than once on accident whenever startled to the extreme."

Ace looked uncertain, thinking about something that didn't make sense with wat Marco was saying. "But, I've been stressed lately and haven't been catching on fire," he pointed out, getting a smile from Marco.

"That shows that you will have remarkable control over your fire some day, probably soon. You should be very proud of that." Sabo chuckled at Ace's shy smile and blush. He wasn't complimented like that very often.

Luffy giggled. "Ace is so cool." Ace grinned, and ruffled Luffy's hair.

"I think you're pretty cool, too. Sabo's not, he doesn't have any cool powers," Ace teased, the feeling in the room much lighter than it was a few minutes ago. Sabo shoved his arm, though he knew Ace was joking around. Sabo didn't really want or need a devil fruit. He had to be the one to be able to pull his brothers to safety if they were were in the water.

Luffy turned to Marco and asked, "Marco, how did you deal with your trauma?"

"It got a lot better once I had a family. I had Pops for a couple months while we sailed alone, but it wasn't enough to heal me completely. Once we started gathering new family members, I came out of my shell. Knowing that many people cared about me despite my past helped me a great deal," Marco explained with a light smile. "My family saved me from myself, just like your family will, too."

Ace and Sabo took Luffy's hands and gave him sincere and small smiles. "We'll always be here for you," Sabo said strongly. Marco smiled at the scene, and said, "There's still food out for you in the galley, but it's getting cold."

Marco left the room for the boys to change. Izo had made some button up shirts for Luffy the day before when he complained about how hard it was to put shirts on without hurting the

still sensitive burn on his chest. It was healing faster than most third-degree burns, which was why Whiskey let him out after a week of rest and another week of fairly close monitoring. The button up was much easier to do, and if needed, he could leave it open.

The three hurried to the galley and saw the eggs, bacon and other breakfast foods out on the counter. They got their plates and brought them to the table, which was mostly empty besides Namur, who was reading the paper.

When asked, Namur told them there was nothing of too much importance. "Nothing that directly affects us, that is." Sabo took a break from his eggs and looked at the front cover.

"Who is Big Mom?" Sabo questioned, seeing the name in bold on the front page of the paper.

"Big Mom is another of the four emperors. She's not like Pops or Red Hair. Doesn't value her kids or crew. She destroyed another one of her islands while being hungry for some food them didn't have," Namur explained casually.

"She killed her own people for food?" Ace asked incredulously. Namur nodded, and said she was a bit insane. But incredibly strong and dangerous.

"But, she stays in her own territory and rarely does any of her crew venture far from it. We've never met her personally, but **Pops was once on a crew with her. **He doesn't talk about those times much, though, and we don't ask," Namur explained. "We don't worry about her dealings, though. That's why it's not a big deal for us."

Luffy shoved the half of his current pancake into his mouth, chewing loudly, before asking, "Are there more emperors?" He took a large gulp of the milk, preferring orange juice, but Whiskey still limited the types of food and drink he was allowed.

"Yes, there are four. Pops, Red Hair Shanks, Kaido, and Big Mom. Kaido and Big mom stick to their territories, while Pops and Red Hair travel around the New World, sometimes visiting Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line," Namur replied. "Sometimes Red Hair visits us, but the other two don't. Thankfully. We may be strong, but I don't think anyone but Pops and Marco would stand a chance against either.

"Even Big Mom's children could best most of us. One of her kids has a bounty over one billion berries. Apparently, he can even see a few moments into the future because his observation haki is so advanced. He would be a troublesome opponent."

"Wow! He can see into the future?" Luffy exclaimed. "That's so cool!" Ace and Sabo nodded along, deeply impressed. Namur chuckled.

"He has a funny fruit, too. He can turn his body into mochi, which is a desert. He has one of the only devil fruits in the world that is considered awakened. He may be an enemy, but I will admit that he is quite impressive. It's a good thing he doesn't go and just kill others, he only follows Big Mom's demands."

"So does that mean people can eat him?" Luffy wondered.

"I'm not sure. Probably not. He's still a human. Not a logia like you and your brother, though he can use it as a logia. It's complicated to explain and I don't think I'd be the best one to ask," the fishman replied.

"Hey, Namur, I have a question," Luffy said after swallowing a sausage whole. He had missed solid foods very much. Ace scolded him, saying Whiskey said to chew everything thoroughly.

"What is it?" Namur asked, wondering what the boy was going to ask.

"How come you look different than the other pirates?" he questioned innocently. Sabo looked to Namur nervously. He didn't know Luffy had never met a fishman. And if he'd never met a fishman, then that should mean he'd never killed one.

Namur looked angry at first, before he saw the curiosity and nothing negative on Luffy's young face. "I'm a fishman. It means I look different, and can breathe underwater. Most of the population lives under the sea, on an island that belongs to our crew. Well, we protect it."

"I wish I could swim without falling asleep," Luffy said in a sad voice. The subject was passed with no conflict or negative feelings. Luffy didn't seem to think much of Namur being different. He stretched and then winced at the pulling on his burn, frowning deeply.

"You okay?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded, but still frowned. He wanted to be better already. He wasn't allowed to shift into either devil fruit form in case it aggravated his burn. That didn't affect him much, since he rarely changed anyway anymore. There was no reason to, and he could use his power on specific parts of his body. He didn't know he was able to do something like what had happened that morning, but he was excited to learn more ways to use it.


	15. Try To Be Brave

**phoenix: yeah, everyone could really use a hug. **

**Posted some new stories. A longer one and a couple one shots. Check them out! Enjoy~**

Marco sat on the highest yardarm, having flown up to it after telling the boys that breakfast was ready. He was in a bad mood. Well, not _bad, _but not good. Ever since the boys had come aboard, and Marco had learned more and more about Luffy's past specifically, he'd been thinking more about his past, which he didn't like to do.

It hadn't bothered him much, as he could just push the thoughts away easily, experienced in doing so. It was after Luffy was stabbed that things got worse. No one noticed but Pops that he started spending more and more time with others, rarely taking any alone time to go read, like he used to. He told Luffy the truth that his family helped with coping, and still did. After seeing what had happened to Luffy, regardless of the betrayal, the thoughts were harder and harder to push away.

He was remembering when he was in _that _place, before he was saved and adopted. About the torture and abuse. Luffy's situation was different in many ways, but also similar in some. He was moping against the mast, looking at his knees, which were bent up halfway to his chest.

"Marco? Are you alright?" Pops asked. Marco nodded, but of course the captain didn't belive him, and raised an eyebrow, as if saying "You really think I'll believe that crap?" Marco sighed and jumped down, landing on his feet easily, standing in front of the captain. He also realized he hadn't told him of Luffy's actions in his sleep. It had escaped his thoughts when he went to be by himself for the first time in days.

"What is it?" Whitebeard asked after they went to his seat, and Marco sat on his shoulder. "What is bothering you?"

Marco sighed. "Just thinking about the past. Not exactly happy thoughts," he said truthfully. He didn't lie to Pops, even when he sometimes wanted to, mostly about his own feelings. He had to be strong for everyone. Very few knew of his past. Only Pops, Thatch and Jozu, who he'd known the longest. They had seen how he was back then, and knew something was wrong. When they'd asked, Marco had willingly told them. Pops had said he should share his burden with others besides him.

"Because of Luffy's situation?" Pops questioned in a soft voice, knowing to treat Marco softly when he was thinking of before. Marco nodded. "And it got worse after the stabbing, didn't it?" the phoenix nodded again. "Is this why you didn't get off at the last island? And volunteered to watch the boys?"

"I want to do everything I can to help Luffy not have the trauma I do," Marco replied. He had skipped the island they stopped at to stay with the boys and Whiskey, there both for himself and to make sure nothing happened with Luffy while injured, if his powers went out of control or turned hostile on their own in his fear those days after waking up from the stabbing. The crew didn't need him to go with them, and Pops allowed him to stay. Of course, the boys didn't go either, and nothing happened while they were docked at the dinky little village.

"Are you keeping up with the journal?"

"Not really, no. I keep forgetting. I'm just so busy with the boys. I feel responsible for them, y'know? I brought them here. That's why I've been telling them so much. To make them all feel better and to make sure they know they have my trust and I have theirs. They haven't shared anything as far as I know, and I don't expect them to."

Whitebeard was shocked that Marco had been giving pieces of his past to children that had only just come. It took years for him to open up to anyone else. But, maybe that's why he was doing it. Marco had no one to help him while knowing how he felt. Pops had been empathetic, but he didn't know how it felt.

"I don't want Luffy to close himself off to anyone but his brothers, how I did with you. I just want him to not go through what I did. If I can do anything about it, well, then I'm trying to," Marco explained. Whitebeard gave him a warm smile.

"I'm so proud of you. I've raised a good man," he said with a grin, the warm smile growing bigger. Marco smiled back. They both didn't mention the thought of Teach and how Whitebeard thought he'd raised a good man, only to be betrayed.

Marco wanted to change the subject, not wanting to dwell on the sad thoughts anymore and be distracted by something else. "Do you think we should let the boys off at the next island? Since it's one of our protected islands, he should not be attacked by anyone," Marco questioned. "I think the boys have become stir crazy."

Whitebeard took a gulp of his sake, and replied, "I think it depends on whether going off the ship is good for Luffy's wound. We should leave it to Whiskey to be the final vote, but I do think it would be good for their mental health to get off the ship."

Marco nodded, expecting that answer. "Oh, something happened with Luffy this morning. When I went to wake them up, the door was closed, and they didn't reply when I was calling them at first, so I opened it. Luffy had created a wall blocking the entire door in his sleep. It only disappeared once they woke up."

"Interesting. What did you tell them?"

"I told them that trauma affects everyone differently, especially devil fruit users," Marco answered. He shifted on the captain's shoulder and crossed his legs. "If that's what he does to feel safe, as long as it doesn't harm anything, I don't see anything wrong with it. It wasn't like me when I first got my fruit and still had anxiety. The flames affected only me, but Luffy's can leave his body now, react to Luffy's wishes even in his sleep. It's quite impressive in my opinion.

"Even though Luffy is undoubtedly powerful, I think he can grow into much more," Marco finished. "And I told Ace that he was going to be adept at his fruit. After all, through all of the stress, he hasn't flamed up more than once or twice. I think it was because he didn't want to hurt Luffy while he was injured and vulnerable, but it still impressive, considering he ate the fruit only a few weeks ago."

Whitebeard smiled. "Well, it's good to not have a family member who can accidentally burn down the ship," he joked. Though it wouldn't stop him from asking the boy to be part of their family. Marco chuckled. "It was a good thing your flames don't burn other things or our old ship would have been a goner in a week after eating your fruit."

Marco knew that was true. He'd had zero control over his fruit at first. His family had laughed at him a lot back then, suddenly flaming in glowing feathers. He didn't like it back then, but couldn't blame them for it in hindsight.

Suddenly, both men turned to the side after feeling a familiar presence coming quickly with their haki. Others gathered at the railing, feeling it, too. There was only one person who would come to their ship in this way, and they weren't proved wrong when the fishman launched himself up out of the calm waters and onto the deck.

"Hello, Jinbei," Marco said with a smile, jumping off of Pops' shoulder to go and greet with ally fishman.

"Good to see you, Marco," Jinbei said, looking around the ship for something or someone. He turned his attention back to Pops.

"Hello, Whitebeard," Jinebi said with a large smile, bowing to the man in respect like usual.

"Jinbei, what brings you to these waters?" Whitebeard questioned curiously, taking a gulp of is sake. They hadn't seen Jinbei in many months, just never being near enough to visit the Moby Dick. Jinbei wore a serious face, and some of the pirates had a feeling they knew why.

"I've been keeping up on the newspapers," he began, only to be cut off by Pops raising his hand.

"Yes, we do have children aboard, but I can assure you we have not kidnapped them. Did you honestly think we would take children hostage on our ship without a good reason?" Whitebeard sounded miffed at this, thinking that Jinbei had more trust in them than this.

"I did not think so, but those on the island are feeling doubt, and I wanted to come and get the truth so I can pass it on. I doubt the paper would tell the truth after that first article. Can I ask why they are here? I don't mean to be nosy, but I cannot help but be curious," Jinbei explained. The pirates were glad he did trust them and was only asking for others.

"Believe it or not, one of the kids kidnapped Marco," Whitebeard said with a laugh. He could laugh at the fact a child kidnapped Marco now that he knew Luffy hadn't done it on his own whim and had not harmed Marco. After seeing what he was able to do to anyone he absorbed, the captain was glad he did not try it on his first son.

To say Jinbei was shocked was an understatement. And they could understand why. First mate and strongest member Marco had been kidnapped by a child. "Why is he here then?" the Whitebeards were usually a forgiving bunch, but surely kidnapping their family member was a bad thing that was unforgivable.

"I will not go into it deeply, but Luffy was under orders to do so. He's a sweet kid. And we'd have to think we're even after one of our own attempted to murder him in his sleep." The feel of the deck grew drastically colder and darker. Jinbei looked shocked.

One of the whitebeards had tried to kill a child under their care? What idiot would try that? And that meant someone had betrayed their ideals and values by attempting to take the life of a child they were keeping, for whatever reason.

"What happened?" jinbei asked with a disbelieving voice, sitting on his knees before Whitebeard to listen.

"It is simple yet complicated at the same time. Luffy has a powerful devil fruit, though it has abnormal circumstances. Apparently, Teach wanted that fruit, so he tried to kill Luffy. Stabbed him in the gut multiple times while he was asleep. When briefly interrogated, Teach confessed to lying these last for decades, and had planned on finding the fruit to kill me and anyone of my sons who got in his way." When he saw how angry Jinbei was, and probably wanted to give Teach a visit too, Whitebeard stopped him.

"The traitor is dead. He succumbed to infection in his wounds before we could do anything. Luffy fought back and his injuries killed him before we could," the captain explained.

"May I ask what the fruit was?" Jinbei asked.

Marco walked up and began to explain. "It's complicated, but he ate a form of the dark-dark fruit, which is a logia fruit. His brother fished up the flame-flame fruit and is now also a logia. I won't go into specifics about their past, that is their decision to share or not," the first mate said strongly. He wasn't going to share personal things about the boys to someone they didn't know.

"Is the boy alright?" Jibei asked in concern, not minding being denied the information.

"He survived, but just barely. He still has a bad burn that will take awhile to heal. But, the stab wound has healed thanks to his own fruit and our experienced head nurse," Marco replied.

"Well, that is good. How long are you planning to house the children?" Jinbei asked. Whitebeard grinned.

"Well, we want them to join permanently, but we haven't offered it quite yet. Not until young Luffy is healed," the captain replied. "We've grown quite fond of them." A few on the crew nodded in agreement. Jinbei then questioned curiously about how Teach had been wounded.

Whitebeard took a sip of his drink. "It was self-defense," he started, not wanting Jinbei to see Luffy's attack as over the top or just cruel. "He crushed Teach's legs to bits, and the wound grew infected down in the brig. Marco found him dead in the morning. It was anticlimactic to say the least, and a bit disappointing, but he did try to kill Luffy. It was fitting that it was his victim who was his downfall, even if Luffy hadn't attempted to kill him."

"How old are the kids?"

"Ace and Sabo are twelve, and Luffy is eight," Marco supplied. Jinbei's mouth dropped in disbleief that someone would murder such a young kid in their sleep. "We know. It's heinous and none of us can see why he would do something like that for a devil fruit. Or why he forsake his family like this. Or was at least planning to in the future."

"I'm so sorry, everyone," Jinbei said sincerely. A betrayal of one someone believes to be family is much more painful than a simple crewmember. Jinbei had met Teach and, as far as the Whitebeard's knew, hadn't seen through Teach's disguise.

Marco ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, it's a mess. But at least he isn't on this ship or crew anymore. We don't think there are any other traitors on board and have investigated into the division Teach was a part of. It's too bad you have your own life or you could be our second division commander."

Jinbei looked down. "I am honored, but I have a duty to my island and captain's legacy." Marco just smiled, figuring that was the answer. The idea just popped into his head, and it was a good one, as the captain agreed as well. "May I meet the children?"

Whitebeard set his large bottle of sake down, making sure to seal it back up with the cap for safety reasons with Luffy on the ship. Thank goodness they hadn't voiced that weakness or Teach would have been more prepared and definitely killed Luffy. "I'm not sure that's a good idea at the moment, Jinbei. He is quite wary and even frightened of strangers after what has happened. We want to make sure Luffy feels safe and welcome after the incident, and I don't think meeting new people will help that cause, no matter how good the people are."

Marco regarded his father, not agreeing completely with his words. He agreed about what they were trying to do to make Luffy feel safe, but Luffy was strong, and wouldn't want to be underestimated. "Pops, why don't we just ask Luffy and see what his answer is? He's trying his best to move on and be strong, and I don't think babying him like this would be good for his self-esteem."

"Good point. Very well, why don't you go ask him and Ace and Sabo?" Pops offered. He heard the captain warn Jinbei that Luffy looked unsettling at first, telling him about the tattoo and sometimes dead eyes, which were slowly being seen less and less. Marco nodded and hurried inside to find the boys. He knew Luffy was strong willed, and would want to try, but he didn't know if he would want to at the moment. He hadn't had a panic attack so far today.

Marco found the boys in the galley, talking with Namur, who was clearly trying to read the paper but Luffy kept asking him questions. Marco smiled at it, as Luffy was looking happy. His brothers were, too, and it was a nice sight to see after the last couple of weeks.

"Boys, there's someone on the ship who'd like to meet you. Would you like to meet him? He's a trustworthy man and has been our ally for decades. We protect his island, so there's no way he would hurt you even if he wasn't trustworthy," Marco explained. Ace and Sabo both looked to Luffy, who was staring at Marco. "It's okay if you don't want to," the pirate added.

"What's he look like?" Luffy asked.

"Nothing like Teach. He's a fishman, like Namur, and he dressed quite differently. Though, he does have a striking face, but we all know first appearances can be deceptive," Marco replied, and the three knew he was talking about Luffy's face tattoo.

"Okay, I'll try," Luffy said in a strong voice, though nervousness was tinted in the words. Marco smiled a wide smile, proud of the boy trying so hard to move on from the ordeal. He wasn't just strong in his devil fruit.

"Alright, his name is Jinbei. He already knows about what happened with Teach, but he wants to meet you three," Marco explained as they walked through the halls after putting their dishes in the kitchen. Thatch wasn't there, he was listing what they needed to restock with Haruta and Blenheim.

Normally, Marco would be walking at a much faster pace, but Luffy both had short legs and moving too quickly hurt his injury. It had been very bad the first couple of days, where he winced and cried out with every step, but now, slow leisurely walking with small steps didn't hurt too bad.

When the three exited the interior of the ship behind Marco, they weren't exactly surprised the fishman was big. After all, there were very large people on this ship besides the captain. Even the more normal sized people towered over them. Jinbei definitely didn't look anything like anyone they'd met, even Namur.

Jinbei looked to see the two taller and older children standing in an unintentionally defensive manner, shielding their brother. None of them looked alike, even though Sabo and Ace were possibly biological brothers, while the youngest was not.

"Hello, my name is Jinbei. I'm an ally to Whitebeard. It's nice to meet you," he said politely, doing his best to lower his voice and try to make it less gruff. He barely glanced at Luffy's face tattoo, which everyone pretty much ignored by now. His eyes weren't hazy but a bit uncomfortable while hidden under determination.

"Hi…" Luffy said. Ace and Sabo gently took both of his hands in one of theirs for comfort. Everyone saw Sabo caress Luffy's hand with his thumb in a relaxing way, which worked as Luffy's shoulders released a bit of the tension.

It was adorable and touching, and had the captain and first mate smiling fondly. "I'm Sabo, this is Ace, and this is Luffy," the blonde introduced. He didn't know what else to say, so he waited for the fishman to speak.

"Well, you three have clearly charmed the Whitebeards," the fishman said with a laugh as he noticed everyones' smiles at the three. Even those who never fully interacted with Luffy or the other two liked them. Everyone had seen and noticed the growth of the three under their care, and were proud of that.

Marco wasn't the only one who noticed that the boys were given a very wide berth except for Marco, who stood close but not too close. Everyone was already used to Luffy's comfort zone, not even thinking about it. Only the commanders may have said anything about it, but everyone seemed ready to welcome them. Marco hoped it wasn't out of guilt for their brother nearly murdering Luffy.

The boys weren't just kind, or cute. They were inspirational, especially Luffy. With how much different he was compared to when they first met. The commanders saw this first hand clearly when Luffy said he didn't want to kill anyone anymore, when just weeks before he had slaughtered a group of men without blinking an eye.

"I like them a lot," Luffy said, voice shaking a little bit as he tried to be comfortable around the new person. After a few tense and awkward moments, someone came to save the brothers.

"Hey, boys! I could use some more eyes to count out what we need on the island!" Thatch shouted from the entrance of the ship. He must have seen the tension in Luffy's posture from behind. The three turned around and quickly took the escape offer, if that's what Thatch meant to do or not.

Marco smiled as he watched them go. Luffy did very well, even if the discomfort had been plain as day. "And that little kid kidnapped Marco?" Jinbei finally said in disbelief, not offended that the boys hurried away. If he didn't know why, he would have thought it was because he was a fishman, but it was because he was afraid of people he didn't know. Poor kid.

"Don't underestimate Luffy. He'd adept at his devil fruit, which continues to grow. He's not a stranger to killing, though he doesn't want to do it anymore," Whitebeard warned. He didn't like his sons being belittled, even when they weren't around, and would defend them. To anyone who insulted them. Jinbei sensed this, and back tracked.

"I meant no disrespect. He's just very small."

"That's what got me kidnapped in the first place. I thought he was just a little kid before he used his power," Marco commented. "He didn't hurt me at all, though he could have. I know that wasn't because he chose to, it was orders, but still."

Whitebeard chuckled. "Your brothers have learned to stop calling you a 'mother hen', but son, you sure act like one with the brats." Marco huffed and looked away, though he felt his cheeks grow hot. He knew it was true. He wasn't ashamed of it, just didn't like when his family pointed out his soft side like it was something to be embarrassed about.

Jinbei left after catching up some more, not about the three, and then left with a grin. "I wish you luck with recruiting the boys," and then he left.

-x-

"Good job, Lu," Ace said when they followed Thatch through the ship and to the storage rooms. There were open crates everywhere. Many were empty, but some were still full. Luffy smiled at the praise, glad he was able to do it for at least a few minutes. He did his best, but he was still afraid of him, just because he was new.

Sometimes Luffy felt like he'd weakened considerably while on the ship, but then Ace or Marco or Sabo would remind him that it was temporary and normal after the experience he had. Luffy felt he was cared for and would be helped through the recovery process that he thought would be long, even after his burn was healed. It would stay there, the burn scar and pink line that was where he was stabbed and stitched back up, but it wouldn't hurt for forever.

The boy and his brothers all secretly wondered how Luffy would have been treated if he'd been injured like this back at the facility. Would they want to keep their precious tool alive and well, or would they throw him away? None of them voiced it and didn't know the others were wondering the same thing.

Sorting out the nearly expired goods from the ones that would last longer was nice and distracting, Luffy given the easy job of being handed the food and reading the expiration date and handing it to the next person who put it in the correct pile. It wasn't taxing and didn't jostle his stomach too much.

"So, are you two thinking about coming onto the next island? It's a lot nicer than the last one you guys stepped foot on, I'll tell you that," Thatch said enthusiastically. "I know you guys didn't get to go on the last one, but this next one is a Whitebeard island. No one will attack you as long as you're with us."

"We didn't really think about it," Sabo admitted. "Kinda forgot about it to be honest. After everything that happened, it just seems inconsequential."

Ace nodded while Luffy wondered what kind of people a Whitebeard protected island would have. Would they be nice like the pirates were? Or were there Teachs out there? "We don't want to make Luffy's burn worse," Ace added.

"You can go without me if you want," Luffy said, making both brothers say a strong "Not happening". Luffy frowned. He didn't want to hold his brothers back. He'd done that for years already.

"We all go or no one goes," Sabo insisted. "But, do you feel up to going? There are a lot of strangers on an unknown island." Luffy would have curled into a ball if he didn't know it would be painful. He looked down, face red. The skin under his tattoo turned pink in shame. His dark eyes fell to the floor.

"I'm not ready, but I don't wanna hold Ace and Sabo back," Luffy said in a sad but strong voice. "I already did that for a long time, I don't wanna do it anymore!" The room fell quiet, those inside looking at Luffy as tears welled up in his eyes, making their usual dullness sparkly with what was now cascading down his cheeks.

Sabo and Ace got up and walked to him. Sabo wiped away his tears. "You don't hold us back. You didn't know any better and no one at that facility would ever let us go while knowing what they did. And you don't hold us back if it's our own choice."

"Lu, we'd have nothing if we didn't have you. You aren't holding us back, or a burden. It's our decision if we want to go or not without you and the decision is _no. _We're not leaving without you and we're not going when it will only set you back or make you miserable," Ace said in an enforcing and unwavering voice.

Thatch was looking sad at his spot, guilt on his face. "And _you! _Stop thinking it's your fault. All of you act like it's your fault. Sure, you didn't notice Teach's foul, _real _character, but it's not like you knew and kept him! He blindsighted everyone. No one hurt Luffy _but Teach," _Ace shouted, sounding angry and irritated. It was just going to make Luffy feel more upset if everyone else blamed themselves.

"Ace, it's hard not to. We knew him for _decades. _Of course it's our fault for not noticing," Thatch said softly.

"Stupid. The whole thing is stupid! Luffy is trying to move on, why can't you?!" Ace shouted irritably. The words shocked those in the room, before they looked ashamed. "Luffy was the one attacked, and if he's willing to try and forget, then people who weren't involved should try and move on themselves. I _know _it will be hard for everyone, but you have to _try. Try _to be like Luffy. _Try _to be brave." He said the last part in a much softer voice.

Sabo and Luffy were both sporting a look that was of agreement with Ace's outburst. The child huffed and then returned to finish dividing the food products before storming out once it was done, Sabo and Luffy following after, holding hands.

Ace's outburst may have been surprising, but it was definitely the truth, and the Whitebeards needed to hear it.


	16. Accommodation

**phoenix: * heart emoji ***

**RIAEVANS: Thank you, you too!**

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**So, if you're a regular reader you may know I have had a story on ****indefinite**** hiatus, the stain on my record of never posting unfinished stories. Well, I FINISHED IT! I'm in the long process of editing (it's 430 pages. yikes). I'm so happy it's done, and I'm reposting the chapters since it'd been over a year since I stopped posting it. Anyways enjoy~**

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Thatch attracted attention by staying in the kitchen all throughout dinner, even eating his food in there instead of going to the table. The commanders were worried about his distracted look and lethargic motions. Marco was chosen and offered to go see what was wrong. Luffy watched Thatch in the kitchen with sad eyes while Ace and Sabo looked on, Ace seeming a little cold and not talking.

None of the commanders asked what was wrong with the boys, thinking it may be something about Luffy that they didn't want and weren't going to share.

"Thatch, what's wrong? You stayed in the kitchen all through dinner, haven't even looked over at us," Marco said in a concerned voice. Thatch sighed, and started doing the dishes. Marco knew Thatch cooked when stressed, and cleaned when upset. He was cleaning, so he was upset. Marco waited at the counter patiently for him to speak, knowing he would.

"I didn't want to be seen in front of the brothers," Thatch finally admitted. Marco was taken aback, clearly not expecting _that._ Had the boys been mean and hurt Thatch's feelings? But, Marco couldn't see them trying to be intentionally mean to Thatch, one of Luffy's favorites.

"Why not?" Marco asked in a quiet voice, not wanting anyone to overhear in case it would make one of the brothers look bad. "Did one of them say something?" Thatch chuckled, but it wasn't an amused one.

"Ace sure did. But, it wasn't to be cruel. He gave a little speech of an outburst while we were working with the stocking. He told us to stop blaming ourselves for Teach. That we weren't to blame, and that if Luffy was trying to move on, then we should, too. 'Try to be brave like Luffy'. We were all shocked by it and then the three left the room," Thatch explained. Marco's eyes widened, and Thatch gave him a knowing look.

Marco had never compared themselves to Luffy. Luffy was the one who was almost murdered, but he was also the only one who was trying to move on from the experience. He was an eight year old, but was able to move forward more than any of the adults on the ship. The phoenix could see why Thatch didn't want to be near them. He knew Ace's words and sentiment were true, but was unable to move on and so didn't want to face them.

"We do need to move on. It won't be easy, but Ace is right. We have to try. All of us," Marco said softly, mostly to himself but also Thatch. For the first time since it all went down, Marco allowed himself to feel the pain that he'd been holding back. The only way to move forward was to accept, and he had to let it out to move past it.

A choke of a sob broke through, and Thatch hugged Marco as both of them shed tears. Their brother never loved them in the first place. All those days of fun, bonding, were fake. They were one-sided. They'd all been so hurt by what Teach had done, but not many had accepted it fully, including Marco and Thatch.

"We can do it, Marco," Thatch cried. "We can be a beacon, we just have to move on, and accept what he's done and that he's dead." Marco nodded against Thatch's shoulder. It felt really good to let it all out, even if it was feeling pain and despair. After a good time of them both shedding tears, they both felt uplifted afterwards.

By the end of the day, when the three boys were asleep in their room, the message had been spread around the ship. _Be brave and try to move on._

Ace had unknowingly helped almost every single pirate on the ship, including the captain, who had been feeling the most guilt. There was nothing he could do now to atone to his mistake, but all he could do was try to move on. Put this ugly and upsetting event in the past, where it needed to go for his family to be healthy again.

Like Marco, much of the ship had been festering, but putting up appearances that they moved on and were fine. Though Whitebeard knew his sons well, they had been good pretenders. There had been a mutual misunderstanding between captain and crew. Whitebeard looked like he'd moved on, so his sons tried to copy it. The captain saw his children had taken it better than he had, and he tried to emulate their behavior as well. They had to face their emotions and accept them before overcoming them.

And, Ace slept soundly in his bed, not knowing he might have just saved the Whitebeard crew from themselves.

-x-

When Sabo woke, he noticed the door was a solid mass of black, and there was no light coming from between the door and the floor. He blinked groggily before following the black to connect to his little brother's bare foot. He didn't wake Luffy up, and instead slowly got up to inspect the wall.

He'd never liked the feeling of Luffy's ability since he'd first seen and touched it, but he wondered if he could reach the doorknob and not have to wake Luffy up to get out. He sunk his hand into the black where he knew the doorknob was, but his hand just kept sinking up until the elbow. He pulled it back slowly, fighting the stickiness of the darkness wrapped around his arm.

When he finally got free, there was a loud snap as the thick oil that had been stretched recoiled back into the mass. It woke Ace up with a startle, and Sabo whispered and apology, going back to the bed.

"What is it?" Ace asked in a hush.

"We can't get out without waking Luffy and having him remove the wall." They both looked at the sleeping boy, laying on his back even though it wasn't his favorite sleeping position. They didn't want to wake him, but Sabo was starving. "Luffy? Lu, wake up," Sabo said softly, the lamp turned on dimly. The brothers knew that Luffy had to be awoken in a certain way for him to not wake up in distress.

Ace and Sabo made sure that they were on the side the lamp was not and had their faces fully lit. There were no bright lights or loud noises. "Luffy, wakey-wakey~" Ace chanted softly. The youngest opened his dark eyes, blinking sleepily as the wall on the door retreated back to Luffy's foot, exposing the door, which was in perfectly fine condition.

"Wha?" Luffy slurred, sitting up and yawning.

"Sabo is hungry and couldn't get out unless we woke you up. Sorry, Lu," Ace said. Luffy nodded and stood up slowly. His brothers helped him dress smoothly, only helping when the movement would jolt his burn. The button down shirts were a life saver.

Once they were each dressed in their outfits, Whitebeard mark stitched onto every top, the three put their comfy shoes on and left to go to the galley. Luffy was still sleepy, but refused to be separated from his brothers or sleep alone anytime soon. He was afraid to sleep without his brothers, period.

The three children were surprised with how sad looking much of the crew was. Before, they were all so happy. Luffy glanced at his brothers in concern. "What happened?" Luffy asked. What was weird was that everyone looked sad, but smiled brightly when they saw Ace and Luffy.

The brothers wandered into the galley, suspicious. Food was out, but no one was really talking. Thatch was in the kitchen, and when the three took their plates, Thatch gave them bright smiles, warring the rest of the pirates' emotions. "Hello, boys!" he said in a chipper voice.

"Thatch, why is everyone so sad?" Luffy asked in concern. Thatch put down the frying pan and clicked the stove off, walking around the counter and kneeling in front of the kids.

"We're no sadder than we were before. To move on, we have to face our emotions first, right? So, things will be sad today, and maybe for a few days, but we've all resolved to be brave and try to move on," Thatch explained, giving Ace a warm smile. "Thank you, Ace. No one could have said it more simply or any better." Ace's face turned a bright red at the heavy compliment.

"Ace is so cool," Luffy gushed. Thatch chuckled and went back to cooking. Sabo gave Ace a knowing smile. "I can't believe your shouting inspired everyone," the youngest said with a smile, though he felt sad for all of the depressed looking pirates.

"Well, the praise can't only go to Ace, Luffy. You're the source, Ace just put it into words," the blonde explained. Luffy was confused. "Well, the first one to be brave and try to move on is you, after all."

"Oh," Luffy replied. "I just wanna be better and not sad all the time, or scared. I'm not sad like the pirates are, they lost their friend. I want to be back to how I was more recently." Sabo ruffled Luffy's hair. They needed showers today.

Pirates filled in at a slower pace, and most looked sad or contemplative. Now that the boys knew why, they weren't so surprised. Commanders sat at the table steadily. The boys had woken earlier than normal. Whitebeard came in, and the three noticed that the commanders all looked a lot happier than everyone else. Ace and Sabo knew it was to help those below them, but the commanders did look lost in thought a lot, though not overly depressed.

They sure did all smile at Ace, though. But, no one said anything about it, as Thatch had already explained everything. The oldest of the three was embarrassed and uncomfortable, his freckles splattered over pink tinted skin. "How did you sleep?" Marco asked conversationally.

"No bad dreams, though the wall thing was back," Luffy said, taking a deep sip of milk. The three children were too small for the tables, but they made do. Sitting in booster seats was a no-no for all three, even if Luffy's chest barely reached the table's surface.

"I tried to get out with it there, but it wasn't possible. Luffy has made the most reliable door lock," Sabo commented.

"I don't mean to, it just happens," Luffy said. Sabo rubbed his back.

"We know, and it's not a bad thing. Hasn't hurt anyone or anything," the blonde replied.

Marco said, "Remember, Luffy has a thorough check up today with Whiskey. Best to start early in the day, we don't know how long it will last." The brothers nodded, not having forgotten. The test would be on Luffy's burn, as well if there were any lingering problems inside of him that hadn't healed correctly.

The three set off after breakfast immediately, wanting to get it over with. Luffy was visibly nervous, but felt much better than the week before, so hopefully he was in the clear for the inside stuff. His burn still hurt, but he'd accepted that it would feel like that for awhile. He didn't remember how long the burn along his arm lasted, or how long it took for that arm to grow back.

He wasn't sure if he was too young to remember, or was in too much pain and had blocked out the memory, like Sabo had suggested might have happened. Well, if it hurt worse than the diluted rubbing alcohol used and still affecting him, he had no clue how long or painful it had lasted.

Whiskey welcomed them the moment they entered. "Alright shirt off, Luffy," the head nurse said, getting her clipboard. Luffy was nervous but unbuttoned the shirt and slipped it off his shoulders, Ace bending to pick it up for him and set it on the bed. The bed Luffy had been on had needed to be dumped. The blood seeped into the mattress, ruining it. It had happened before with crew members who were horrifically injured and losing blood.

Whiskey was brisk, but gentle with her tests. She first tested Luffy on normal things, a doctor's check up. He did everything she said and was in the clear. Next, he had to go under a machine to see his insides and how they were healing. It was an abdominal x-ray machine, to see his inner organs.

After the photos were ready, Whiskey put them on a board and pointed out what was what to the boys. They had no clue about the anatomy of your gut. "Well, I don't see any abnormalities in there. No cuts, infections, scars, anything not belonging. You're powers are incredible, Luffy. You've almost completely healed. I am sorry that the burn seems to be slow to heal, and will most likely continue to be painful and sensitive for quite some time.

"You need to still be taking it easy, letting Ace and Sabo do many tasks for you. Still do not shift your abdomen yet. Amy wants to do her own exam of your devil fruit abilities to see if anything changed afterwards. And Ace has a test, as well. Sabo will be sitting out for this one," Whiskey explained.

Ace had had a test scheduled with Amy, but it had been pushed back quite some time due to Ace's unwillingness to leave Luffy's side while he was hospitalized. Plus, there wasn't much to know about the flame-flame fruit. It was a well-known fruit. Luffy's was more versatile, even if he'd eaten it normally without it being tainted and rotten.

When Amy came in after Whiskey gave Luffy the clear and he was able to eat more acidic food like juices, which the youngest was very happy about, she had a clipped expression. The boys knew she was still miffed about being wrong over Luffy's devil fruit. Everyone tried to convince her it wasn't her fault that Luffy's from was an anomaly. She didn't believe anyone.

Luffy was tested in a different place than last time, as that area was now designated for drinking, which the pirates followed the rules. Nothing new was tested but to see if Luffy could form things other than sharp edges and if he could stretch the substance away further.

The boy had grown more powerful, but had also lost some control over it. He was unable to stretch too far, and it would snap back quickly, though he was able to form the wall or a thick spot on deck that would be absorbed back into his arm since his foot was covered in his shoe.

Amy didn't seem too impressed, but Luffy wasn't there to impress her. Ace's test was fast and simple. All he could do was catch fire or keep from catching fire. His fruit was simple and not as interesting as Luffy's altered fruit.

The three, after the tests, went to their bedroom to shower. Luffy went first, but burn covered by a wrap of plastic around his abdomen to keep the water from irritating it. Washing his back was near impossible to reach behind him without irritating the burn even a little bit, so Sabo washed his back. The shower didn't drain Luffy, which he was glad of. He'd never be submerged in deep water again. He wished the bath tubs were shallow like his old one that he could sit in.

The boys, nice and clean, walked down the halls to see people carrying objects and clothes and tossing them over the side of the ship. When the three gave questioning looks, the nearest pirate, standing a couple yards away from Luffy and right in front of him, explained that they were finally getting rid of everything belonging to Teach, which had just been shoved in the closet to the very back.

When the three moved on, Sabo said, "Looks like your outburst really helped, Ace." The freckled child blushed, unused to being helpful like this, or his yelling actually being anything than rude. Luffy grinned up at his taller brother, who ruffled his hair when he noticed the look.

"Do you think there's an empty part of the island? That we can get off of but see no people not on the crew?" Luffy suddenly asked. "It would be nice to go off the ship but not into a busy place."

"Well, we can ask. I'm sure, if there is, they'd be willing to take us. Hopefully we wouldn't have to fight or anything this time, but since it's an island under the crew, they shouldn't attack us," Sabo explained. Luffy agreed, that they would ask. For now, he wanted to go out on deck and soak in the sunlight. The two odler obliged and they were soon all out on deck, going to the front and sitting on the whale's head. It was behind Whitebeard's chair, where he was sitting and relaxing.

Luffy trusted the large pirate with alcohol, knowing he wouldn't drop it and if he did, would warn Luffy before it got to him. All of the pirates had been really good about staying in the specific drinking places besides when there was a party, which hadn't happened in awhile.

Marco walked over while they were watching the sea, something that was always nice to do no matter how often they did it. When he approached, he made it known that he was coming, saying their names still a few yards away so he didn't startle Luffy. He was doing better, Marco didn't want to risk giving him a panic attack while he was distracted by the ocean.

"How did the check up go?" he asked, standing behind them until they turned around to face him.

"Luffy's allowed to eat and drink more acidic foods like juice and spicy things. The burn is healing but slowly. It will still hurt for quite some time," Sabo explained before the other two could answer. "We were wondering if there is a safe place away from people that we can go to when we get to the island?"

"I'm glad he's healing well. There is undoubtedly some place to go that is not populated. Would you like to go off the ship?" Marco asked. The three boys nodded. "Luffy will have to take it easy, though. So, no running around or playing strenuous game."

Luffy nodded, knowing that already. He was determined to heal, and taking things slow and accepting help when needed was a must to heal as quick as possible. Ace and Sabo couldn't imagine the pain he had when he had his arm burned and cut off. It had no doubt been horrific, and Sabo thought that Luffy probably blocked it out of his memory. It would make sense to do so, even if he didn't do it on purpose.

"Since I have been staying on the ship for the last island, I'll be one of the commanders to be doing things. Thatch will be busy as well, shopping for food. On the first day, that is. I'm sure Thatch would like to take you on the second day, once the food is stocked and stored.

The three nodded, perfectly fine with going on the second day.

-x-

Haruta looked through the telescope at the horizon, twisting the base to zoom in. There was something or someone out there, but then the intelligence leader saw the distinct shape of a ship. He put the telescope down and immediately headed to Whitebeard. Marco was sitting and talking with the boys on the whale's head.

"Pops, there's a ship tailing us," Haruta said. Marco turned around and stood to go listen. The boys watched, too, but didn't listen. They didn't think it was their business what the commanders were saying, so they turned back to look at the scenery.

"How close?" Whitebeard asked, not concerned. They had more than enough members to protect the children. If Luffy were not injured, he would allow the boys to watch the fight from the doorway that lead into the ship. Seeing the pirates fight may make them feel more secure on the ship, which was the pirates' aim. Along with letting them know they were wanted.

"Should reach us before dusk. It's not a fast ship like G5 had been. I can't tell if it's a marine ship or pirate ship. In Paradise, it could be a trading ship, but I doubt it is here," the youngest commander explained in a serious voice. "We may want to prep for a fight. The island is still a day away."

"Either these sailors are idiots, or prideful idiots. Heading towards our ship when we're so close to a protected island. Fools," Pops said and then down the rest of his bottle of sake, tossing it into the water.

"If they do come at us, we need to keep the ship steady. Don't let them get on our ship in the first place," the captain continued. The other two commanders knew why he said this. Any sort of sudden movement would scare Luffy and possibly make him fall, hurting the sensitive burn. That they gave him, treatment or not.

Storms scared Luffy, but he stayed as strong as he could. There was always warning given. For the storms, Luffy was always seated in a couch bolted to the floor in the library, Ace and Sabo on either side keeping him steady. There was usually a commander in there in case anything went wrong. There were more than enough pirates aboard to take care of the ship during a storm with one commander absent.

"Aye, Pops," Haruta said. Marco nodded as well and went to spread the words while Haruta gathered his division to track the progress of the ship tailing them. Usually, it was some stupid rookie that came after them, usually losing their entire ship to show just how weak they were. Show them they needed to get a grip or return to Paradise.

Luffy got up and walked slowly to in front of Whitebeard. "Is everything okay?" he asked nervously.

"There is a ship tailing our vessel. We're keeping track of it and will fight if necessary. There's no reason to worry, our crew is more than capable at taking them, no matter who they are. No emperor would be in these waters and threatening us," the captain explained patiently. "We do want to keep the ship steady to not aggravate your burn," he added.

"Sorry," Luffy apologized. Everyone went out of their way for him, even for a small burn. Yes, it had been a very serious burn, but it was not that big and yet caused so many problems. Whitebeard could see his thoughts on his face. The kid used to be able to keep his emotions as behind an unsettling mask, but now he was as easy to read as a book. After all, he'd let most of his walls down around the pirates, even if the incident with Teach raised them once again.

"There's no need for you to apologize. We gave you that wound, after all. Treatment or not, it was our actions that caused you pain," the large man replied in a stong voice. Luffy nodded, but didn't look convinced. "We are very glad you are alive, Luffy. A burn is a small price to pay compared to you losing your life."

Ace and Sabo were on either side, Ace's hand on Luffy's shoulder and Sabo's holding his hand. "Whitebeard, I have a question," Luffy suddenly asked, clearly changing the subject by the different tone of his voice.

"What is it, child?" Whitebeard wondered.

"Is there a way to remove the tattoo on my face?" Luffy asked, pointing to the side of his face the tattoo stretched across. Whitebeard asked why he'd want to do that. "It reminds me of who I used to be. I don't like it anymore."

Whitebeard thought for a moment. "It is possible to remove it. It might hurt a bit, but it is possible. It will take many months, considering how large your tattoo is. You really want to forget your old life, don't you, child?"

Luffy smiled. "I like now me better than old me. I want to forget about it."

Whitebeard laughed happily. "You're all good and brave children," he said with a grin. He had to work to catch himself from calling them his sons. He hoped so much they would stick around after Luffy's burn healed. The boys were strong, but they were still children and needed nurture and guidance, along with a safe place to live.

Normal pirate crews would not be a safe place to live for children, but Whitebeard hadh ad children on his crew before, and they turned out safe. Not all of them turned out good, since **he'd had Teach since he was a child, **but they grew up happily on the ship. He wised to do the same for these three.

Eight would be the youngest he'd had on the ship. And it was safe because of the mighty commanders and sheer size and power of the crew and ship. Plus, Whitebeard would be there to protect them, as well.

"Thank you for letting us stay, Whitebeard," Sabo suddenly said. "Especially after Luffy's injury." Whitebeard waved his hand, as if dismissing the child's words.

"You may all stay as long as you wish, and definitely until Luffy is fully healed, no matter how long that takes. And we are not keeping you out of guilt, or feeling we owe it to you. You three have wormed you ways into many of our hearts and we wish you to be safe and happy, even if you do choose to leave some day," the captain explained patiently. Luffy grinned, big and bright, making the captain not believe how he'd ever thought this adorable child was creepy.

"Thank you," Ace said, Sabo giving a bow. Whitebeard waved the thanks away as well. Luffy grabbed Ace's hand and swung both brothers' hands back and forth happily. The three returned to the whale's head to bask in the sun and relax, not a care in the world after Whitebeard's kind words.

He grinned, and got up to get another bottle of sake.

A few hours later, after lunch, which was big and healthy in case the pirates had to fight the ship tailing them and coming closer slowly, Haruta and his division rang the alarm that the ship was coming closer, and would be at them soon. The winds had died down considerably, bringing both ships to an almost standstill, the other needing to paddle.

The Whitebeards knew they'd catch up, and didn't care when. The boys were inside and safe from any fights that they would try to keep on the enemy ship. The paddling boat was not a marine ship. It was a ship with a super rookie on it. Whitebeard sat and grinned at the excited looks on his sons' faces. After all, it wasn't often that there was a real battle to fight, as most weren't stupid enough to fight them, and those who were were usually disappointingly weak.

The Fallen Monk Pirates. While he had a large bounty, the captain, it paled in comparison to Marco's bounty of over 500 million berries. Someone went inside to tell the boys to stay inside and out of the fight. While hiding under Pops' chair had been a good idea at the time, it was not now. Luffy would be in pain if he laid on his stomach and there was just no reason to risk their safety by having them out on deck.

The enemy pirate crew were shocked when they pulled up and every pirate on deck jumped onto their ship, an all out battle starting. Whitebeard watched from the side of the ship as his sons fought, grins on their faces as they took down the lesser pirates.

Marco started fighting the captain, Urouge, hitting him many times. It didn't take long to realise he was immune to blunt blows. He brought out his talons and instead scratched him badly. "Why are you attacking an emperor crew?" Marco asked, not having broken a sweat against the super rookie.

The phoenix dodged a hit with the enemy captain's weapon. Thatch arrived, slicing at Urouge's legs viciously with both swords, blood staining the silver metal. Thatch and Marco always were good at fighting with each other. Marco took the upper body of the opponent while Thatch focused on the legs and abdomen. It was especially handy against large enemies, which Urouge was.

Thatch was having fun, too. The other commanders and crewmates had easily disposed of the lesser pirates on the enemy crew. Whitebeard was still watching with a proud smirk, drinking his sake like he was eating popcorn while watching something interesting.

"Curious about the kids you got!" Urouge said. The atmosphere of the deck changed drastically. Those who heard dropped their grins and now looked furious. It was uncharacteristic, but some went back to the unconscious pirates and tossed them over the side of the ship to drown. No one targets their resident children.

Thatch and Marco grew angry, though experience made it so it didn't make them sloppy. Thatch became much more viscous with his stabs and cuts, covering the swords in haki. Marco attacked Urouge's face with his talons, making him scream.

"No one threatens our kids," Marco growled. Thatch jumped and slices off Urouge's hand, the appendage dropping to the ground as the super rookie screamed. Haruta climbed up to the first yardarm and sliced open the sail into pieces with his sword. Jozu began to pummel the ship and broke off the helml. They wouldn't be going anywhere.

Not that they could exactly go anywhere after they were dead. Pops had lost the smirk and smile and now had a cold expression on. Marco went in for the kill while Urouge payed more attention to his missing hand. He sliced across the monk's throat, talons going halfway through his neck, though not deep enough to completely decapitate him.

His body was thrown into the ocean unceremoniously. The mood was ruined, and the pirates stomped back to their own ship.


	17. A Dangerous Nightmare

**RIAEVANS: Thank you!**

**phoenix: Yeah, the Whitebeards won't let anyone hurt their new babies.**

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**This chapter is another turning point in the story. I've started posting a couple new stories since the last chapter, so it'd be appreciated if you go check them out. Those of you like me who are still in this semester, only a little longer to go! Enjoy~**

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Luffy napped on the bed, brothers in their room with Sabo sitting at the desk and Ace doing his homework Sabo gave him on learning to write and read. He traced letters with a pencil. Tyler from the third division had come and told them to stay inside during the fight. The ship hadn't moved at all, making them think that the fight had been on the other ship and not the Moby Dick.

The youngest snored quietly, on his bed under the sheets with his hands next to his head on the pillow. Both older ones heard the whimper and turned on the lamps and woke Luffy before he could have a full blown nightmare.

"Lu, you're safe," Ace said with a soft voice. Luffy's face turned red. He almost apologized before Sabo pressed a finger to his lips.

"Remember? No apologies allowed," he said in a stern but kind voice. Luffy nodded. Sabo had told him no more apologies the last time he had a nightmare. The two boys hadn't been surprised when Luffy's powers stretched to the door and covered it in the thick black wall. It was no problem. With this room, they had their own bathroom so did not need to leave the room for any reason other than food or being bored inside.

"Luffy, when did you decide you wanted to get rid of your face tattoo?" Sabo asked curiously.

"When I asked," Luffy replied simply. "I only just thought about it."

"It'd be strange to see you without it," Ace commented, Sabo agreeing with a nod.

"Well, I didn't choose it. All the pirates chose their jolly roger tattoos," Luffy said. "I'd want a tattoo I choose. I thought it was cause I ate the demon fruit, but I didn't eat a demon fruit so they just tattooed it to try and look creepy. I know it makes me look creepy," he said sadly, usually would have curled up if it weren't for his burn.

"Well, the tattoo did do the trick for the first sight, but the pirates and we don't care about it anymore. But if you want to get rid of it, it's your choice after all. No one can stop you," Sabo replied. He ruffled Luffy's hair. "There's nothing you can do about how dark your eyes are, but that doesn't matter much. But, be prepared for everyone to call you cute once the tattoo is removed."

"Cute is much better than creepy," the youngest said back. Ace chuckled.

"Good point."

Once the fight was over, Haruta came to tell them. The wall on the door had disappeared once Luffy woke up, not even seeming to notice it return to his body. Luffy had been practicing tracing words with Ace while Sabo was reading at the desk. It was relaxing, just to be doing something productive in the quiet.

Sabo had learned to read before he teamed up with Ace at their old home, both homeless and needing to steal to survive. Ace's background was different than Sabo's, but they still were best friends that decided to be brothers before Luffy found them.

Luffy and Ace had not learned to read or write. Ace had no one to teach him, and those who controlled Luffy hadn't deemed them important skills to learn, clearly thinking they'd have the boy the rest of his life or until he died. They could recognize low numbers, but that was it.

Haruta knocked on the door gently, and Sabo got up to open it. "Fight is over. A few people are injured, but not too badly. We're throwing a party tonight. Haven't done one in awhile, too long," the short commander explained. They noticed he seemed angry under the surface.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Luffy asked in concern. Haruta gave him a smile.

"The enemy just said some annoying things, that's all," the commander replied. "So, you can come out now, if you wish." The boys looked at each other, sharing a look they could each decipher.

"We're gonna stay in here for a bit longer," Sabo said. "We were just relaxing in the quiet." Haruta gave them a smile, and left, closing the door gently behind him with a soft _click. _The two black haired children went back to being on the floor and now copying the letters they'd traced. They would have been doing this much sooner, but Luffy just didn't have the attention span after what happened and Ace and Sabo were taking care of him and giving all their attention on him. Plus, Ace wanted to learn along with Luffy, not having the youngest being behind and rushing to catch up.

"Ace, Sabo? When do you think I'll be better?" Luffy suddenly asked, barely touching the wound on his stomach absentmindedly, trying to ignore the stab of pain it brought. Ace and Sabo shared a look from across the room.

"Well, the burn will take awhile to heal, and you're going to be upset and startled easily for awhile, probably, too," Sabo answered honestly. Rarely did they ever lie to Luffy. They strived their best to not to anymore.

Luffy deflated. "Do you think they'll kick us off when I got better?"

Ace spoke next. "I'm not sure what they're planning in the long run, but they've made it clear that they at least want us here until you're doing better. Sabo and I lived on our own before we met you, so we could probably live on our own and be just fine if we hunt for our food somewhere."

"So, we'll have to leave eventually?" Luffy asked in a small voice.

"I assume so. They're pirates, they might not want the responsibility of children," Sabo replied.

"But we can protect ourselves!" Luffy exclaimed. Ace was quiet, watching Luffy's reactions. It was clear Luffy did not want to leave. Ace could see why. This place was his second home, temporary or not, after living in a bad place that made him do bad things.

Sabo raised his hands in a peaceful way. "I know that. After you're better we can ask. We're not leaving anytime soon anyways." Luffy pouted, before deflating again and returning to his paper, though his face was looking a bit miserable.

Ace remembered Whitebeard's words. They could stay as long as they'd like. Did that mean they were offered to stay with them indefinitely? Ace couldn't help the feeling of excitement and happiness in his chest from the thought. But, he wouldn't get Luffy's hopes up. Maybe, Ace would be brave and ask one of the commanders. If they said yes, Ace could ease Luffy's worries. If they said no, then Ace would be prepared and there to comfort Luffy.

The freckled child couldn't tell if Sabo wanted to stay. He got along well with the others, but not as much as Ace and Luffy. With Luffy charming everyone and having them feel they needed to help him after what had happened, and Ace's outburst/speech, they were treated differently than Sabo.

Everyone did their best to help Luffy emotionally, pirates and brothers alike. Sabo hadn't had anything special happen with him so far. But, Sabo didn't seem especially bothered by it. When they lived together prior to meeting Luffy, Ace was always the one catching attention, getting into arguments with adults. Sabo was always the placating one, cleaning up Ace's messes. He was naturally the most responsible. Maybe the pirates saw this and that was why they treated the blonde older than the other two, despite Ace being the oldest of the three.

Being at that place changed them a lot, but Sabo being more mature than Ace would always be a constant. Ace was pretty sure of that. Ace couldn't be more grateful for Marco taking them away from that place and being the catalyst to Luffy's change of heart. That change showed a lot to the brothers with Luffy wishing to remove the tattoo.

It had never bothered him before, since he didn't remember never having it, but now he wanted to put _everything _behind him and get rid of the thing that reminded him of his past every time he saw his own face. It was actually surprising, now that he thought about it, that Luffy hadn't commented on it before now.

The three spent a long time in their room in comfortable silence, all lost in their own thoughts. By the time mid-afternoon came, Marco had come down to check on them. He knocked on the door softly, but loud enough for the boys to hear. When Marco said it was him, Sabo got up and opened the door for him, even though it wasn't locked and Luffy hadn't blocked it off.

"Are you three okay?" Marco asked in concern. The boys nodded.

"Just wanted some peace and quiet. Ace and Luffy are doing homework and I was writing some stuff." Sabo had always wanted to write books, so on the pieces of paper he had, he was jotting down things about life with Luffy and now the pirates. Just bullet points, and there were a lot. Some day he could write a book maybe, if they didn't end up staying on the ship. He didn't mind staying, but would still wish to publish a book.

"You mean Luffy and Ace's learning to read and write?" Sabo nodded. Luffy held up his newest sheet of paper, uppercase and lowercase letters traced neatly. He picked up Ace's to show his progress as well. The handwriting between the two were completely different.

"Good job," Marco said, looking at the letters. Luffy smiled, and Ace huffed in embarrassment. "You know, if you need it, some of those on our crew would be happy to help accelerate the teaching.

"No, Sabo will teach us," Luffy said, shooting down Marco's offer. He didn't take it personally and just said okay.

"Well, the enemies are long gone and we'll be at the island tomorrow. It'll be busy, and you won't be in the infirmary this time, so you can help us take the crates off the ship if you'd like. Ace, and Sabo, so Luffy won't aggravate his wounds. Dinner will be soon.

"Luffy, do you really want to get rid of the tattoo?" he asked, changing the subject quickly. Luffy nodded. "Izo does the tattooing, so you should talk to him directly about it. Removing tattoos takes quite some time, but you'll be here awhile, so it should be fine."

The boys hadn't talked to Izo in awhile. Besides him giving them new clothes with the Whitebeard symbol stitched on, even on clothes they didn't wear anywhere other than the ship. After the first outing, on the second stop at the island they never saw from the infirmary, Izo had bought more fabric for the youngest. The stars and polka dotted shirts didn't match well with the jolly roger sewed on, but there was no argument about including the symbols.

"Marco? Do you know when I'll get better?" Luffy asked suddenly when Marco was about to leave.

"You mean the trauma?" Marco asked, closing the bedroom door behind him for privacy. Luffy nodded. "It may take a few weeks, it may take a few years or it could stay with you for a very long time and you have to work around it," he said, not sugarcoating it. Luffy's face fell, like he was expecting that answer but was unhappy he was given it. Luffy had a feeling it would take a long time, but he didn't want it to be for forever.

"You've been healing at a remarkable rate, trusting others and depending on people who aren't your brothers. No one can know this early," the phoenix zoan added.

"But I can't even be around people I don't know," Luffy pointed out. "I had to run from Jinbei cause I didn't know him."

Marco crouched in front of the chair Luffy was sitting in. "Everyone heals at different rates. There are some people who have never gone through trauma that can't even leave their houses. And you're going to go off the Moby Dick tomorrow out of _choice_. What you should not do is force yourself to do things you know you can't. Push yourself, but don't over do it."

"When do I know I'm overdoing it?" Luffy wondered. Was going to see jinbei overdoing it?

"You are overdoing it when you make yourself go backwards in progress. Overdoing it for you would be pushing yourself so hard that you give yourself panic attacks," Marco replied. "Your panic attacks have dwindled down very much, and we don't want them to come back too much."

Luffy moped. "I had a bad dream today," he confessed.

"You can't control what you dream about. Do you remember what it was? Maybe writing it down would help. Or writing it down with a happy ending."

Luffy shook his head. "Ace and Sabo woke me up before it got too bad." Marco smiled.

"What did I tell you about family helping you heal?" Luffy grinned.

"I believed you," the youngest pointed out. "I love Ace and Sabo."

"As well you should. All three of you deserve to be loved."

Five hours later, all three boys were getting ready for bed, changing into their pjs and brushing their teeth before Luffy got onto the bed and his brothers flopped down next to him. "Sleep tight, Lu," Sabo said, Luffy giving him a smile and nodding. He wished he didn't need to sleep on his back anymore, but he was going to do everything Whiskey told him to. He wanted to get better physically and emotionally.

_Luffy woke to his brothers sitting on either side of him, having been saved from a bad dream. He looked around frantically before realizing he was safe and with his brothers. The warm lamp light was on and Luffy knew he was in their new bedroom. _

"_Do you want to talk about it?" Ace asked quietly, moving a lock of hair out of Luffy's adorable face. Luffy shook his head, and both of his brothers accepted it, and the three went back to bed, Luffy holding both of their hands. Sometimes during the night, the door opened silently, not a creak this time. _

_For the second time that night, Luffy woke up, but not from a bad dream. Something felt off and when he woke up, he found neither brother next to him. He assumed they were in the bathroom, but it made him uneasy. _

_The room felt colder, but the porthole window wasn't open, so the cool air didn't come from outside. The thought didn't linger in Luffy's mind, still hazy from sleep. "Ace, Sabo?" Luffy called, getting off of the bed and standing to go look for his brothers. _

_Standing in the bathroom doorway, he turned on the light but neither were in there. He grew worried, but told himself it was irrational to be worried. They were safe, and besides, Ace and Sabo were strong. But, they also wouldn't just leave Luffy to sleep on his own anymore. He had no doubt about that, but they had left him. _

_Growing scared, Luffy hurried to the bedroom door to try and find his brothers in the galley. But, the door was locked. He jiggled the handle, but it didn't open. There was no lock on this door, but the door also opened inwards, so was someone holding the door shut on the other side?_

"_Hello?!" Luffy shouted. There was no response and he was now very scared and uneasy. He was able to stab the door with his power enoug time to make it into just a pile of broken wood. He would get in trouble for that, probably, but he was on the verge of a panic attack. _

_Hurrying down the halls, he expected someone to be there, but it was so quiet and he passed no one in the halls. He banged on bedroom doors, ones he didn't know anyone who slept in it, trying to find _anyone _but no one answered. He resulted to breaking down doors, but every single bed was empty. Even Whitebeard's room was empty after he blew out the door, not caring about causing damage anymore._

_No one was here, and he began to breathe heavily, panicking and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He could hear it in his ears and feel the pounding of it in his head. He heard a creepy creaking noise and saw a shadow at the end of the table, big and fat. Luffy ran back to his bedroom, and covered the doorway in his power now that the door was gone and unable to be closed, or even locked in the first place. _

_Hiding under the covers was the only thing he could think of to try and calm himself. It just made it worse when the shadow was over his bed. He whimpered but was afraid to look outside of the blankets. He missed his old, strong self for a moment, but the thought faded quickly when the sheets were ripped away. _

_Teach loomed over him, grinning like a mad man and he had a much longer blade this time, covered in red. Dripping. Luffy had found no dead bodies anywhere, but the blade was definitely covered in blood. It dripped onto his shirt and soaked through. Luffy tried to spike Teach in his panic, but it was also like Teach ate a logia fruit as the spikes went right through him without doing a thing. _

_More and more spikes burst from Luffy's body and decimated the area, trying to get Teach to get away, before he ignored the spikes, moving his arm through them like smoke, and sunk the blade into his stomach all the way through, stabbing into the bed as well, before he pulled it out and repeatedly stabbed through Luffy, deep enough that he felt the exit wounds out of his back. _

_Screams tore from his throat as blood sprayed around him, soaking the bed in it. It hurt so bad that his surroundings faded and all he knew was pain and unfamiliar laughter. His brothers weren't there to help. He worried that they were dead, or had ditched him. _

_Logic didn't reach him, like how Teach had already died, or that the entire crew couldn't have just left Luffy on the ship. Someone would have to stay behind. And someone should have heard him by now. He continued to scream as his organs were destroyed into mush, but he didn't die. The pain continued, and he wished he was dead._

Ace and Sabo both woke to a bloodcurdling scream right next to their ears, snapping up and ready to wake Luffy, until black spikes destroyed the bed above and below the boy. Ace and Sabo scrambled off of the bed to get out of the way of the spikes. Both dived down, but more and more spikes started shooting out of Luffy's writhing body and splintered into the walls, causing cracking noises all around.

"Ace, into the bathroom!" Sabo screamed and dragged Ace up, both sprinting to the bathroom and into the shower, closing the shower door. Once everything was quiet, besides Luffy whimpering, the two older boys opened the shower door slowly, and made their way out, only to be met with a wall of needles stopped right against the bathroom doorway.

There were wood chips all on the floor from the ruined walls. There was no water, though, meaning the spikes hadn't gone through the side of the ship. They weren't going to flood, thankfully. "Sabo, what do we do?" Ace asked in a hush, not wanting to startle Luffy and have the spikes stretch more and impale both older boys.

"The commanders have to have heard all of that. Marco should come, he can get to Luffy safely."

"What about Luffy's fruit?"

"He doesn't have that power, at least not yet. His spikes won't cancel out Marco's. They only put out yours cause they suffocate and take all the oxygen out. Fire needs oxygen."

"I don't need a science lesson!" Ace hissed. "We have to help Luffy wake up." Sabo's cheeks grew red, embarrassed.

"We have to wait for the commanders to get here. I don't want to be spiked by Luffy," Sabo replied.

"What about my fruit? I'm made of fire, I should be fine to go through right?" He had forgotten about his fruit in the sudden panic, thinking he'd be skewered. But, Luffy didn't know haki, so Ace should be fine.

Sabo grabbed his sleeve. "You don't know how to change into fire and go through the space," the blonde reminded his brother. Ace cursed, knowing Sabo was right. He couldn't control the tangibility of his body yet. They needed to wait for Marco to come. As desperately as they wanted to wake their somehow _still _sleeping brother, they didn't want his power to react to the sudden noise.


	18. Looking For a Treatment

**RIAEVANS: I only put Luffy through more shit to come. Mwahaha.**

**phoenix: He needs a big hug from his brothers.**

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**Much shorter chapter this time. No surprise but I've posted new stories after the last chapter. Check them out, one is super different from anything I've ever written before. It's a modern-au dystopia. Enjoy~**

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Every commander and the captain woke to three things: a spike in their haki, a child's bloodcurdling scream, and the sounds of splintering wood and pounding on the walls. They all flew out of bed and out into the hall, all in various states of sleep, Thatch's hair down his back and Izo's in a tangled mess. Many of them were shirtless. It had to be very late at night since they were all asleep.

They all saw what the problem was immediately. There were black blades sticking out of the section on wall that was the second division commander's room. Where the three boys were. The screaming had stopped, but there was no other sound. Marco walked forward and put a finger in front of his mouth to quiet his muttering brothers.

Marco gripped the door handle, which fell off the moment he touched it. He dug his hand into one of the cracks in the door, and pulled it away, breaking it easily out of its hinges. What he was met with was a a wall of spikes. Marco motioned for his brothers to get out of the line of fire if the spikes extended and made it into the hallway.

The phoenix got closer, and could see the bed, which was broken into pieces, Luffy's limp body melted into the ripped apart mattress. He was thrashing around, whimpering and tears coming out of his eyes. It looked like the spikes were all coming from his body, coming out of every part but the middle of his stomach and his head.

All of the black spikes were very skinny, like needles. There had to be millions of them. Marco grew very worried about Ace and Sabo, who would be in no way able to survive being stabbed millions of times. The light from the hall streamed into the room, and Marco saw movement coming from between the spikes at the bathroom door.

He let out a heavy sigh, relieved that Ace and Sabo were alive, but trapped in the bathroom. "Ace, Sabo? Are you alright?" Marco asked, loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to cause a panic attack.

"We're okay! Luffy had a nightmare," Sabo supplied just loud enough to reach Marco's ears. And what a nightmare it had been. Marco touched the wall of spikes, making sure Luffy hadn't activated any haki in his terror, but his hand slid right through. He changed into full phoenix mode and slowly made his way through the spikes. He stepped over ripped up stuffed animals and broken toys that the three had brought to the ship with them.

Walking to the absolutely ruined bed, Marco was able to touch Luffy's face with his hand. He was still covered in flames but was no longer in his zoan form. His clothes were ruined, torn to bits after changing back into human form. "Luffy," Marco said gently. Luffy jerked away, and spikes came from his cheek and right through Marco's hand. Thankfully, it didn't hurt.

"Luffy, wake up. Luffy, you're safe. Your brothers are safe. You have to wake up," Marco said. He knew the brothers weren't safe. At least Sabo wasn't. If Luffy's power activated again, it could stab into the bathroom and through his brothers.

Luffy's eyes snapped open and he looked around in terror, eyes pouring tears and his whole body shaking. Marco was right next to the collapsed bed. The poor boy was so delirious, and clearly didn't know what had happened with his powers. All of the spikes receded when Luffy relaxed from Marco's reassuring smile.

Ace and Sabo ran forward, kneeling into the mess of stuffing and wood. "Wha?" Luffy asked, seeing the state of the bedroom. It was destroyed, but thankfully didn't pierce through the hull of the ship and into the water.

"You had a nightmare, Luffy," Ace explained. He and Sabo looked very shaken but not afraid of their baby brother. Luffy started to openly sob, and his hand flew to his stomach, and Marco could guess what he'd dreamt. Damn that Teach, haunting Luffy's mind even in death. A few commanders entered the room slowly, looking at the mess that had once been a nice and clean bedroom. There were wood chips everywhere.

Ace and Sabo gathered Luffy into a big hug. This was a big problem. Luffy's powers had gone off in his sleep, and not in a harmless way. It could have killed Ace or Sabo. Luffy could have killed them on accident, in his sleep.

Luffy sobbed out apologies for ruining the room and causing danger to his brothers. He could see this was a major problem as well. The commanders he wasn't closer with left the room, while Marco, Haruta, Thatch and Pops all stayed. No one seemed angry about the state of the bedroom. They couldn't blame him for awakening his powers during a horrific nightmare.

"I can't go back to sleep," Luffy said. Ace and Sabo frowned, but everyone in the room agreed that Luffy should stay awake. No one wanted him slipping into another nightmare. "Did I hurt anyone?" Luffy asked his brothers quietly.

Sabo wiped a tear from Luffy's cheek. "Nobody got hurt. Me and Ace are okay. The room and bed aren't in a good shape, but no one blames you. You wouldn't do this on purpose."

"What if it happens again?" the boy choked out, looking deeply ashamed.

"Don't worry, Luffy. We'll come up with something. We're not kicking you off the ship for something like this," Thatch said in a soothing voice. "Why don't I go start breakfast, and you three can help out?"

Luffy's clothes were ruined, he was practically naked and only covered in bits of fabric. There were some of their clothes in the fabrics room waiting to be washed. Izo hurried off to go get him a new outfit and underwear. Before the boys left, Izo had ran back with a new outfit for Luffy.

The boys wanted a distraction, and the three agreed to go with Thatch. Whitebeard stayed behind with Marco, and whistled at the state of the room. There wasn't an inch of wall that hadn't been stabbed. Some holes were very large but others were tiny. "We need to get on this immediately," the captain said seriously. "We'll have to get them another new bedroom. I wonder what kind of dream the poor child had."

"He was touching his stomach where the wound is. He was probably dreaming about being stabbed again," Marco said in a sad voice. "Pops, what will we do about this?"

"We'll talk to Whiskey about it. She's his primary care physician. For now, lets try and clean up the room. We don't want anyone getting splinters. We'll find what's left of their few belongings." Marco nodded and he and the other commanders helped clean up all of the bits of wood and put them in a trashbag. They swept up every little piece, and by the end, the room hardly looked any better than before the wood chips were cleaned up.

"I don't want to hear a word, Kingdew," Pops said in an assertive voice. The commander had started to talk, and everyone knew it was going to be some sort of "I told you so". But they wouldn't be giving up on Luffy for this. He didn't do it on purpose. They'd find a solution. Marco had no doubt about that.

"We have to make sure he knows no one is mad about this," Marco commented. "He's gonna feel very guilty, but no one was hurt. Ace and Sabo are lucky. As is Luffy, he'd never recover if he killed his brothers on accident."

Haruta sighed, leaning against the pole of the broom. "This room is a goner. Even the floor is ruined," he said, poking the toe of his shoe into one of the new grooves. "I don't see how any of the shipwrights could fix this."

Fossa was the shipwright and lead that division. "We'll figure it out. We'd have to replace the flooring and walls completely, but it seems the foundation of the room is still fine, and the spikes did not pierce the hull or we'd be in a lot more trouble," the double chinned man explained. He'd never really interacted with the boys, and took no special interest in them like many of the commanders had now.

"How long will that take, son?"

"We don't have enough wood to do so, so it won't be happening without a lot more wood. We'll need nails and sealant. I have no doubt my division will fix it, but we may need to do some brainstorming first," Fossa explained. "Luffy's spikes can pierce through anything, so it wouldn't help to put anything special against the walls." He then looked up at the ceiling. "It seems the wall and floor has taken the most damage. The ceiling has to be replaced as well, but nothing collapsed. Just the surface has been damaged. I would worry more about Luffy and our safety than a bedroom."

"Well said, son," Whitebeard replied. "I have confidence in you and your division to repair the wall, if not anytime soon."

"Thanks, Pops," Fossa said.

"We'll figure out something. We always do," Haruta sighed. He looked around the room again. "I hope this doesn't set him back."

Izo put his hair in a low pony tail, not liking wearing it down. "Well, even if it does, we're here to help. Shouldn't we just tell them already? That we're expecting them to stay? Maybe it would make them feel more stable?" the crossdresser asked. A few nodded in agreement. Whitebeard thought for a moment.

"I'm starting to think that is the best course of action. We'll see what happens today."

"Aye, Pops," some in the room said. Many knew they couldn't sleep again, but a few of the commanders went to try and fall back to sleep. Marco headed towards the infirmary, Whitebeard following. Based on the rising sun outside the porthole, the nurse on duty would have switched with Wendy, who would wake Whiskey once she heard the seriousness about what had happened.

-x-

"I have an idea," Whiskey said to the captain at the breakfast table. It had only been an hour since she was told what had transpired in Luffy's sleep. Marco left his food to get up and follow her when she beckoned him to. Whitebeard as well. The boys were all feeling down, it was clear on their face. Luffy's eyes were still red and he was jumpy.

When they entered the infirmary, Whiskey started talking instantly. "Luffy reacts strongly to baths, correct? Makes him sleepy and unresponsive?" Marco nodded. "Depending on how long he is affected by the water, he may be able to go to sleep and still have his body unresponsive all through the period of REM sleep. He may still dream, but his devil fruit will be weakened so it can't act out while he's dreaming.

"This is the short term remedy. We can only make sure this doesn't happen again is by counseling. I'm still not comfortable with giving him medication, even after knowing his powers come from a devil fruit and not some injected experiment. And I don't want to prescribe medication to a young child.

"The main goal right now is to make it so his powers don't go out of control while asleep. So far, this is the best idea I've come up with. And the only one, to be honest." Marco frowned. It sounded like it would work, but Luffy had been attacked while weakened by previously being in water. Keeping away dangerous nightmares while setting him in the same state that the real incident had occurred.

"It's not ideal, Marco, but it's all we have. I'm sure Luffy would rather be scared, than waking up to find he'd impaled his brothers on accident," Whitebeard said emphatically. Marco knew he was right. "We don't know whether his abilities are weakened with being submerged, and we don't know how long it lasts. We also can't recreate today's situation without rightfully being accused of child abuse."

"Well, why don't we talk to the three directly? Or do you think we should wait until later?" Whiskey asked.

"Later. Luffy still has to be pretty upset, he needs to spend time one on one with his brothers. Taking him into the infirmary and suggesting we submerge him in water while he is already on edge and upset would not be wise," the captain said. "We will give him time to calm down." Whiskey and Marco both nodded. Poor Luffy.


	19. A Solution?

**RIAEVANS: Don't worry, he has his brothers to help him through all the hard times. **

**I'm so sorry that all of my fics are off schedule this week. I'm trying to get them back to normal but there's so many and I was really messy posting last week (somehow?). Anyways, enjoy~**

Luffy was distracted all morning. He didn't want to go back to the room he'd destroyed. He'd killed all of his toys, too. His stuffed animals were torn to bits, and his other toys were in pieces as well. He'd never lost control like that. Sure, he'd been unintentionally using his abilities at night ever since the attack, but never had he almost harmed -_killed- _his beloved brothers.

While the boys were helping Thatch make breakfast, it didn't help that Luffy kept breaking eggs or dropping things with his shaking hands. He was trying to be distracted but he just came away as clumsy and inept. It made him feel like even more a nuisance before Ace and Sabo decided to stop and take him outside to talk with.

"Luffy, what was your dream?" Sabo asked bluntly. Ace shot him a glare, but Luffy had to tell someone what had terrified him so much that he'd destroyed the bedroom and furniture around him. Luffy curled into a ball automatically before wincing as it aggravated his stomach. He grimaced, wishing that the ordeal had never happened. He didn't wish he'd not met the Whitebeards, but he wished Teach had never attacked him.

"E-everyone was g-gone… All around the ship, no one was there. I looked everywhere, but no one was there. Th-then _he _was there, and I hid under the covers and then he stabbed me over and over and over again. B-but, it was a big knife. It went through me into the bed. It h-hurt really bad," Luffy confessed, wanting to let his brother's know he'd only lash out like that with a horrible dream, not the usual short nightmare that they wake him up from.

"I'm so sorry," Luffy sobbed. The three were on the whale figurehead. Ace and Sabo hugged him, Ace gently taking him onto his lap and rocking the younger side to side slowly.

"He'll never come back and we'll never ever leave you alone like that," Sabo said softly but also sternly. "Teach is dead and long gone. He died and then was eaten by a sea king, he's never coming back." Tears were coming out of Luffy's shut eyes, and the blonde wiped a few away before more came.

"I broke the room. My toys are broken, too. Everything. Sabo's story is probably ruined, and our clothes are all ripped up," Luffy muttered against Ace's chest. Sabo didn't react to hearing his story was ruined, he already knew. Had seen the pieces of paper. But, he didn't really get far and could rewrite everything easily. Besides, even if the papers were destroyed, the bits were still readable.

"Don't worry about my story, Lu. It was just notes, and nothing I can't rewrite. Maybe Izo can fix your stuffed animals. Or get new ones at the next island," Sabo said.

"I almost killed you and Ace," he said flatly, finally voicing the most worrying part about the incident. "That's never happened before. I've n-never hurt _you._"

Sabo rubbed his back while Ace continued to rock him. He may only be four years younger than them, but he was still their little brother. The older siblings take care of the younger, even if they're not blood related. They are family. "But you didn't."

"Only cause you were lucky," Luffy said against Ace's shirt, getting it wet with tears and snot.

"Maybe, but at least we made it so we can figure out how to fix this from the get-go," Ace said, fairly bluntly. "We don't blame you, Thatch doesn't blame you, Marco and Whitebeard don't blame you, so stop blaming yourself. If you had lashed out on _purpose _then we would be upset and that would be wrong, but you were trapped in a horrific nightmare and your powers were only trying to protect you. We were just in the crosshairs, on accident." He pet Luffy's hair softly. "Now, why don't we ask if anyone has any plans on what to do? The Whitebeards are smart guys, and Whiskey is a very knowledgeable nurse. She's figured out how to treat you in many ways, on the spot, too. If she can _plan, _then we might be alright."

Luffy nodded and wiped his runny nose, sniffling loudly. His eyes were puffy red, and he had red splotches on his chest. The three got up and walked to the infirmary. It looked like word didn't spread around the ship yet as the three weren't getting any new looks. They didn't know how the rest of the crew would react. They'd been plenty welcoming so far, but Luffy lost control. Maybe they'd find him as a threat. Hopefully, not.

The boys arrived in the infirmary to see Whiskey and Marco, talking. Wendy was treating someone who cut his thumb on a wire and needed stitches. Whiskey turned and saw the boys. Like usual, she got right to the subject. "Luffy, I've come up with an idea that might work, but it will be unpleasant. But, you have to choose comfort over safety for your brothers."

Already it had the boys nervous, fidgeting where they stood, much shorter than everyone else. "Luffy, have your powers ever worked after being submerged fully in water? You get exhausted, right?"

"No, I've always fallen asleep before anything happened. Always really sleepy," Luffy replied immediately. He wanted to know what she meant, he didn't want to drag it out.

"Well, we were thinking that, before bedtime, you'd take a long bath. That way, your entire body will by asleep. REM sleep, the time when you dream or have nightmares, starts at around 90 minutes into the sleep cycle. It can last hours, or minutes. If your body reacts strongly enough to the water, you may stay inactive throughout REM sleep. You may still have nightmares, which will need more time to treat psychologically, but the dangerous reaction to nightmares may be dulled.

"This is all speculation, but most things about you are speculation. If that does not work, then we could submerge parts of your body while sleeping. Maybe have your hands resting in bowls of water, or wrapping you in something wet to sleep. It may mimic the feeling of being submerged," Whiskey finished. When Luffy had an uneasy look, the head nurse reminded "This is for the safety of those around you."

Luffy nodded, though he wasn't looking forward to it. "How do we test it?" Luffy asked.

"Well, we will _not _recreate the situation. We won't trigger nightmares on purpose. As a test, I was thinking maybe having you take a long bath, and we'll see how long you sleep afterwards. Then, Marco will poke at you or tickle you and we'll see if your fruit activates. Until Ace can control his tangibility, he won't be used in any tests," Whiskey explained. Marco hadn't said a thing, but turned to Luffy and crouched down, making direct eye contact with the child.

"Even with what happened, no one is going to kick you off of this ship. Until you get better, and unless you want to leave, you're welcome to stay here safely. Many of us on here have had nightmares, just they didn't have your powerful devil fruit.

"We treated those who needed it with counseling and other forms of care and that's what we're gonna do for you," the first mate explained.

"Counseling?" Luffy wondered.

Sabo said, "It's talking to a trained physician or psychologist. They know what to do or how to help you specifically where family and friends can't."

"Exactly, but it won't be me. Wendy is the counselor on board. In case you are uncomfortable with Wendy for some reason, Curiel has offered to try, but I would not recommend him," Whiskey explained patiently. "We'd like to start the counseling as soon as possible, perhaps tomorrow."

Luffy looked behind him to see Wendy waving over to him with a smile. Luffy didn't know her too well, even if she helped him recover after the stabbing. Whiskey was more acquainted with Luffy, and had done the surgery that both healed and damaged him. But, Luffy trusted her to take care of him. Being with another one of the nurses might be strange, but he wasn't going to shun her.

None of the three had reacted to Marco saying they could stay as long as they wanted. It still didn't feel like they wanted them indefinitely. Just until the boys wanted to leave. Did that mean they didn't want them to stay for good? Only as long as they felt like it?

"What do I have to do in counseling?" Luffy wondered, not liking it and not really even knowing what it was.

"You'll preferably share your thoughts and pain with Wendy, who will treat you as best as she can. Nothing you say will be told to anybody else, even Popss. It will be strictly confidential," Marco explained. "You will be taking it slow, not exposing everything the first session, unless you want to yourself."

"Ace and Sabo are going in with me?" the child asked. Sabo was the one to answer.

"Not this time, Lu. It's just you and Wendy. We'll stay right outside the room, though," the blonde replied truthfully. Luffy didn't like this. "You can tell us all about it afterwards, but we don't want me or Ace interfering with Wendy's judgment."

Luffy pouted, but looked down, trusting Sabo. he wouldn't put Luffy someplace scary, alone, by himself.

"For now, we will try our only idea," Whiskey cut in. "I'd like to do the study early, so how about now? Have you boys gotten breakfast yet?" When they nodded, Whiskey walked the boy to the infirmary bathroom, and to the bathhouse area. It was small, but the bathtub was more than big enough for Luffy. Since their room and bed were unusable, Marco had set up a bed inside a storage room, sheets and all.

Luffy reluctantly went inside and did as they said, even if he was shaking while in the deep water. Sabo was in the bath with him, Ace sitting on the edge and wishing he could go deeper to help. The youngest became limp almost immediately, and they stayed in the warm water for over a half hour before Marco entered and told them it had been long enough.

The moment Luffy was out of the water, he passed out. Sabo dressed his limp body and Marco gently carried the boy to the storage room turned bedroom. Ace and Sabo were situated behind a wall of crates and with the door slightly open so they could flee if necessary. Marco had the unfortunate task of bothering Luffy in his sleep after the 90 minute mark. They were timing how long he stayed asleep before the dreams could start.

Once the hour and a half were over, Marco started to slowly bother his body. He poked Luffy in uncomfortable places. He didn't wake, but his body didn't react either. After a good ten minutes of poking and prodding him with Ace and Sabo watching, Marco told them to get out and close the door.

Trusting Marco they did so and left the room, though a bit reluctantly. When they were out, Marco clapped his hands loudly and suddenly. Luffy's body flinched but didn't wake up. Only a tiny coil of black left Luffy's arm. It hardened before going limp and retreating back to its power user. Marco smiled, thinking it had worked. He waited for anything else to happen, and then went to the door, twisted the door handle loudly and pulled open the door, flooding light into the room and onto Luffy suddenly.

Luffy's powers reacted in a different, non-dangerous way. The blackness seeped out of every pore but his burn. Covering himself in protection while he couldn't fight back. Marco saddened, but smiled a soft smile. This was a much better outcome than the stabbing was. But, was it good enough to trust it wouldn't hurt Ace and Sabo?

The blackness almost immediately was sucked back in. Luffy stayed asleep for another four hours, his brother staying in with him while Marco came and went to check on the boys. Whitebeard ended up going over while Ace and Sabo curled up on either side of Luffy, unafraid of being spiked. Leaving him in a time of need would be worse than being injured.

Food was brought to them by Thatch, and a little ice chest was put in the room for whenever Luffy woke up and wanted food. He didn't seem to have any bad dreams, or his body was just too exhausted to wake up from them.

After reaching the third hour, Marco had switched with them to try and rouse Luffy's powers again, but the results were the same, with Luffy shifting. Marco came out quickly, and told the boys he had hope that this would work. The two boys beamed before hurrying into the room.

After four hours and six minutes, Luffy woke up slowly, and raised his head. He looked to his sides to see Sabo and Ace, Ace was napping while Sabo was reading, book in the air and laying on his back.

"I'm awake," Luffy mumbled. "Wh-what happened?" he asked through a big yawn. Sabo closed his book slowly and woke Ace.

"It worked. When you were asleep, Marco kept bothering you but your powers reacted really sluggishly, and only covered your whole body. Your powers didn't attack anyone in your sleep. I think it might actually work," Sabo explained enthusiastically. Luffy gave a small smile.

"Good," he whispered. Then, his stomach roared. Ace brought over the ice chest and Luffy dug in to the cold lemon chicken. It didn't matter if it was cold, it tasted good to Luffy, and the cold juice was nice as well.

A couple minutes after Luffy woke up, Marco knocked on the door gently, not knowing if the boy was up yet. He must have know he was when Sabo called he could come in instead of getting up and going to the door to open it himself, even if there was no lock.

"Hey, Luffy. Sleep well?" Marco asked, holding something behind his back. Luffy nodded. "Izo fixed something," Marco said and turned on the light, pulling out Luffy's stuffed animal that had been on the bed with him. Izo had repaired it, and Marco gave it to the child, who started crying. He had thought all of his special toys and stuffed animals were gone. Even if the rest were, he had his favorite plushie. He hugged it close, and thanked Marco through tears.

"It will be hard to repair the rest since they are mostly shredded, but Izo's division will do their best," the commander said in a kind voice.

"They aren't mad or afraid of me? Everyone else?" Luffy asked in surprise. Marco shook his head with a smile. He sat on the bed next to the boys.

Marco ruffled Luffy's hair, slow enough that he could pull away if he was uncomfortable. The other two were watching apprehensively, knowing Marco would tell them what everyone thought of what had happened. "No one who knows what happened is afraid of you. Most of the crew knows you have nightmares, and that this one was especially bad. They just don't know what happened with your abilities. No one got killed. The room is off limits now, so no one has seen the interior.

"I'm gonna let you in on a secret that you can't tell anyone I told you," Marco said quietly, glancing at the bedroom door. "We welcome you with open arms to stay forever. Wait for Pops to ask to agree, but just know that question will be coming, and you will now be prepared with an answer. If you choose to leave, we will not take away your freedom, but will miss you and be sad you left." He gave them a smile and got up to leave the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Luffy still felt sluggish, but was stiff and wanted to at least get up and walk around the room. "I don't like the feeling, but I don't want to hurt Ace and Sabo," Luffy said sadly, helped to walk with Ace securely wrapping his hand around Luffy's mid-back. After a few rounds around the room, Luffy was able to walk on his own.

"Are you scared of me now?" Luffy questioned quietly. Ace frowned and exchanged a look with Sabo.

"No. We're not scared of you. Or you when you sleep. We were both scared when the spikes came, but only because you were in the middle of it," Ace answered in a strong voice.

Sabo put his finger on his chin in thought. "You know, haki would have been really useful. We could have sensed where the spikes came from instead of blindly dodging. Sure, it worked, but it wasn't ideal."

Ace agreed. "And Marco said they wanted to keep us. Maybe they'd be willing to teach us extensive haki training," the freckled brother offered. "Though I do wonder if Marco would get in trouble for going against Whitebeard to tell us they wanted us to stay."

Luffy looked worried, no longer moping openly. "You think he'll get in trouble?" he asked in concern.

"Probably not," Sabo replied. "If Whitebeard is meaning to ask us to stay, or offer it, it doesn't go against him _really. _Maybe if Marco told us we _weren't _wanted or _not _to stay, he may get in trouble. I think we've all noticed Marco is the favorite." The other two boys nodded. It was clear. Marco was the only one who sat on Whitebeard's shoulder, the one he stayed with throughout the day.

"Big question to ask, but I think we know the answer: are we going to join the crew, or set off on our own?" Luffy was already sure, Sabo was leaning towards sure and Ace was not at all sure.

"Well, there are a lot of pros, but also cons. Pros are safety, family, getting trained to be stronger. Cons are loss of freedom, not that we've had it for a long time, having to do as Whiteebard says as part of the crew. And people would find out about Luffy's weakness, besides haki. The rest will have to gain our trust to let something like that slip," Sabo explained.

"I wanna stay. I wanna get better, and have more control. And Ace to learn his devil fruit. I like Thatch's food and people are nice and don't make me kill people," Luffy said. He looked almost pleadingly to Ace, who looked down at the floor.

He sighed. "I'd always stay with you two, if you decide to stay then I'll stay, too. I don't know what I want yet. I never thought of being an underling, but our future was set in a completely different direction when Lu came along. I do like the people here, but besides some of the commanders, no one has gained back my trust after Teach," the oldest said in a strong voice.

Sabo nodded, sitting down on the mattress. "Ace has good points. But you've never been a very trusting person. You didn't trust Luffy for a long time, even after I learned to. You might be biased about joining because of your issues."

Ace looked at his brothers with a guilty face. "What's wrong?" Luffy asked in concern with Ace's pained expression.

"I know we don't talk or think about it, and you say it doesn't matter, but what if they dig into our past, and find out who my family was before Sabo met me?"

Sabo frowned. "You think they'd care about that?" he asked in a snappy voice. Ace flinched. "They won't care about something so inconsequential. Besides, you don't talk about it to anyone, even us, so why would you bring it up with them in the first place?"

Ace glared at him, and Luffy didn't like it when his brothers got in fights. "Don't fight," he said sadly. Ace and Sabo flinched, and apologized to the youngest. "Why don't we go out on deck?" Sabo asked. "We've been cooped up in here for awhile. Not many were told about what happened last night, so don't worry about that, Lu," he said when Luffy opened his mouth to ask. The boy nodded, and looked down at his stuffed animal. "I doubt anyone would look down on you for carrying your stuffed giraffe around," the twelve year old said kindly. Luffy looked conflicted for a few seconds before picking up his plushie and tucking it into his inner elbow.

When the boys were out on deck, they heard Thatch, from somewhere on deck, shout about how cute Luffy looked. He always looked younger than he was, just now it was accentuated. The boys saw Marco sitting on Whitebeard's shoulder, and he gave them a wink that no one else noticed.

Armed with the knowledge Marco gave them, Ace didn't hesitate to go up to the captain and ask, "Whitebeard, would haki have helped me and Sabo this morning?" He didn't go into details, not knowing how many people around knew about the incident.

"No doubt, it would help. Both of you were incredibly lucky. Or, you may have haki already and we just haven't noticed," the man said, making Luffy feel a bit ashamed. "It is in the past, child. Remember? Be brave and try to move on." The brothers wondered if that was a new Whitebeard motto.

"Will you teach us?" Sabo asked.

"Sure. I'm sure my children would be willing to help you. Ace still needs training with his devil fruit. Luffy has improved quite a bit since the attack, I think starting up practicing would be beneficial. Besides, Ace has no doubt grown in control of his fruit. He's yet to burst into flames while Luffy has been in recovery," the captain explained.

Luffy looked proudly up at Ace, who was grinning. Cheeks a bit pink, but feeling pride for not risking hurting Luffy in any way. It seemed he couldn't be burned by Ace's fire, but the child could not risk it.

"How could I risk hurting my baby brother?" Ace asked, ruffling Luffy's hair affectionately. Whitebeard laughed his unique laugh. It was a warm laugh, welcoming and almost proud. It made the brothers think that Marco most likely had been telling the truth. With all the smiles and congratulations given to Ace, it felt to him like this _might _be a place to stay. And Sabo was right. He didn't _need _to tell anyone about his biological father. It might not matter to the captain, but it was is life, and Ace was positive not everyone on the crew had shared their entire life.

Maybe this could be a safe space to grow up, let Luffy grow up in a nice place and not a facility where people used him for their own gain.


	20. Psychopath

**phoenix: There will still be lots of trauma. Poor Luffy.**

**RIAEVANS: lol, papa Marco. Grandpa Whitebeard. **

**acetwolf24: Thank you! We have 12 chapters left! **

**This chapter has hurt/comfort. Some may also start to hate one of the characters, who knows? Enjoy~**

"I can tell you're keeping a secret, son," Whitebeard said during a briefing from the second division, which was in the process of being divided for the time until they found a suitable second division commander. It was an important choice, and the captain would not give the place to anyone who did not fit the mould perfectly.

Marco kept a stoic face. "I'm not sure what you mean," he said, though Marco could hear the unease in his voice about being caught. He'd gone against his captain's wishes. He would no doubt be in trouble, but he hadn't gone completely the wrong way. It would have been much worse if he'd told the boys they _weren't _wanted.

"Boy, you can't lie to me and think I won't notice," Whitebeard scoffed. Marco set the papers down, and looked up at the man with a blank face. The emperor looked at him with a smirk, daring Marco to lie directly to him. Marco let out a defeated sigh.

"I may have let slip that we wanted to keep the kids." When he was given a raised eyebrow, he said, "Ok, I may have told them directly that we were planning on keeping them." Whitebeard sighed, and Marco worried he was actually in trouble.

"I trust your judgement, but what made you tell them before I wished?" the man asked, a hint of confusion in his voice. Marco had rarely, if ever, disobeyed Whitebeard in a way like this. Marco flinched, but knew he had done the right thing at the right time.

He made direct eye contact with his father and captain. "I did it to help Luffy. He thought we were going to kick him off because of being a danger. To me, it was the right time to bring it up. They know your wish to keep them, and I told them they would now be ready to answer when that question or offer officially comes. I didn't do it to go against you directly, I did it to help our future little brother feel safe and wanted. I will take any punishment you give. I went against your wishes, but I am not sorry that I told them."

Whitebeard stared at him, and they didn't say anything for a moment, Whitebeard thinking and Marco waiting. "I trust you did what you thought was right. There is no punishment for helping one of our own, official or not, to not have a panic attack or become afraid of rejection." Marco sighed and gave the man a relieved grin.

"If you had told them the opposite, that they weren't wanted here, they you would have definite punishment. But I know that's not how you feel and not how you'd act even if you did not want them to stick around," the captain explained.

"I do have to say my ego has been inflated since the brats came aboard. After all, Luffy used to be a killing machine, and here he is holding a stuffed giraffe in front of everyone. I am proud to have welcomed them with open arms, even if Luffy had originally kidnapped my beloved son. Though, I hope you know now not to underestimate anyone anymore."

Marco sighed, and then chuckled. "I am ashamed that an eight year old kidnapped me so easily," he said, though in good humor. "I look forward to having my own baby brothers. And no mother-hen jokes or I will not be happy."

Whitebeard laughed long and hearty. "I didn't think I would gain sons by losing one, temporary or not." Marco gave him a serious look, surprising the captain.

"We don't know for sure that they will stay indefinitely. At least until Luffy is better, however long that takes, but after that, they have the freedom to leave. We can't take that away from them," Marco explained. Whitebeard nodded in agreement. If they truly wanted to leave, the man would let them. They'd been trapped long enough, they deserved total freedom if they so wished.

-x-

The boys were asleep on two mattresses pushed together in Marco's room. There was a small office space connected to his room, as he was first mate and his room was the nicest on the ship besides the captain's. Usually, the space was storage for papers, books, things that didn't belong in other places. Now, it had three children, an end table and a lamp. The door was closed just slightly.

It was to make the brother's feel safer than they would if they stayed in a storage room that had bedroom furniture. They would have felt like they were being punished if they were thrown in another part of the ship. All three would have felt it was Luffy's fault and that others blamed him.

But, when Marco offered up the space they were in now, Ace and Sabo had wanted to go and said so immediately. "What about your stuff if I go out of control?" the youngest had asked fearfully, and also feeling immensely guilty for ruining the room they'd been offered out of kindness.

"There is a small space sectioned off. There is a door that Ace and Sabo can exit if necessary, but if the room is destroyed, it will not be much of a loss." Luffy had reluctantly agreed, and while Marco was doing his duties, Ace and Sabo took Luffy to the bathroom to submerge him before bed.

Everything that was in their makeshift room were now in boxes in the main room, and Ace laid Luffy down on the bed, making sure the door was open so Ace and Sabo could leave if needed in an emergency. AKA: unintentional attack.

It took awhile for both trying to sleep before they decided taking turns would be most effective. There was a clock in the room, so Ace took a four hour shift while Sabo took the second afterwards.

Through both shifts, Luffy didn't stir even once, not even readjusting his position. He stayed completely limp and knocked out until 9:10, waking slowly to the smell of good food. Their breakfast had been brought to them while Luffy was still out of commission. He lethargically tried reaching for the bacon on the untouched plate, and Ace took it for him. Luffy was exhausted, but not from the water anymore. He sat up after a full-body stretch and started eating without a word.

"Did you sleep alright?" Sabo asked, since Luffy wasn't going to talk as he stuffed his face greedily. He shook his head, seemingly honestly, and his brothers smiled. They were both able to function with not too much sleep, so taking shifts hadn't been a problem. Luffy had always slept more than they did.

"No bad dreams or anything?"

"No. I don't remember what I dreamed," Luffy replied. "I'm glad I didn't destroy the room." Ace and Sabo nodded in agreement. The room was perfectly fine. Luffy had felt safe in Marco's room and hadn't even covered the doorway. Well, if Whiskey was right it was because Luffy's fruit was prevented from doing anything.

"I'm glad you didn't have any nightmares," Sabo said, ruffling Luffy's hair. "I'm sure Izo has made us new outfits since the old ones were destroyed." Everything in the room had been ruined, much of it beyond repair. The clothes inside the dresser and closet had been shredded to pieced by the spikes that piereced through the thin wood. Toys and papers and books were all goners, as well.

"We're stopping at the island today. You'll get to go on it tomorrow after Thatch is done buying foods and other necessities. Do you want to go outside and see it?" Ace offered. Luffy nodded, and they left in the clothes they were wearing, Marco gone and unable to fetch Izo as they didn't know where he was. They'd slept in because of Luffy still being asleep. No one knew the real extent to how long the water treatment lasted. Napping and going to bed for a full night's sleep were two different things.

"Okay," Luffy said. The three brushed their teeth, since nothing in the bathroom had been ruined and they still had the toiletries, and then went out on deck after stopping to return the empty plates to the kitchen. Thatch wasn't there, only a few members of his division washing the last of the dishes from breakfast.

Not many people were still there, but they found Whitebeard directing the pirates on where they were going, as they couldn't all come off at once without being disorganized and being overwhelming to have a crew of over a thousand pirates coming off all at one time.

"Boys!" Whitebeard called to the children looking at the island from the railing of the Moby Dick. They were docked on a side of the island that didn't have many houses or people, which Ace and Sabo were sure was for their benefit. The three went to him, voice easily heard over the chatter and noises.

The three walked across the deck and up to the massive chair. "How did you all sleep?" he asked. They knew he meant Luffy, since that's all that mattered.

"Luffy had no bad dreams," Sabo supplied.

"That's not what I asked. I asked how you _all _slept. No doubt worrying about your brother would keep you up or cause your own nightmares," Whitebeard said. The other two looked surprised. Whitebeard smiled at them sadly. "Did you think we only care about Luffy's wellbeing? How did you two sleep?"

Poor Ace and Sabo were so confused. The whole time they'd only been focusing on what was good for Luffy. They just assumed that was the same for everyone else. Ace was speechless while Sabo recovered quicker.

"We took shifts last night, to make sure Luffy didn't have any nightmares," the blonde supplied. "I read the whole time, I don't know what Ace did."

"If you'd like, we can have someone stay in there while you both sleep. Just like watch duty, only more relaxing. Sitting on a chair all night would not be the worst thing. Do you know the tells of Luffy having a bad dream?" the captain asked kindly.

Ace and Sabo answered right away. "He whimpers and starts to twitch. We always wake him up as soon as we can. We… clearly we were unable to do that the last time around," the freckled brother said.

"It wasn't Ace or Sabo's fault! It was a really bad, really sudden one. It started out slow, not like my other ones," Luffy explained, not wanting his brothers to feel guilty when _he _was the one that should feel guilty.

"The nightmare's was no one's fault but Teach's," Whitebeard said in a strong voice, clearly not liking the blame that each child was feeling. The three didn't argue with this, because they knew he was right. Luffy didn't have nightmares before Teach tried to murder him. Of course it would leave lasting scars, for a long time, and they needed help. Ace and Sabo couldn't take care of him during the night by themselves.

Ace and Sabo had stone cold faces, not sure how to ask for the help they needed. Whiskey and Marco had been a huge help, but they needed more. Luffy needed more. But both Ace and Sabo didn't know how to ask. Whitebeard seemed to see this.

"It's alright to ask for help, boys," the large man said in a surprisingly soft voice. "There's nothing wrong with it. When one of my sons, our family member, joined, they had had a very traumatic assault. He'd bee suffering for a year, but once he joined this ship, everyone was there to help. He got better, it took time, but he couldn't be happier now. There will always be trauma, but it can be overcome with time and love.

"I'm sorry, but this is not a small enough problem to be dealt with completely by two children. It's not right to have to burden you three with this to work with on your own. You can ask for help and we will be there for you," the man finished. They were all trying not to cry, Luffy because he felt like a burden and the other two because they were still nervous to ask. To open up completely.

Sabo finally took the jump, and said, "Help us. Please," he said it quietly, but it was heard by the captain and his fellow brothers.

"That's all you need to say. We'll get a group together to help tonight. We should get on this as soon as possible, and to not have Luffy or you two suffer from the stress you feel. Children your age should not suffer from such stress and worry. Luffy should not suffer from nightmares like this, but we have to work through them thoroughly, and I don't doubt that you two will do everything in your power to fix this situation. Things might never be how the were, but you can still come out of it hopeful and happy," he said with a huge grin. Luffy nodded along, Ace and Sabo with hopeful looks on their faces.

By then end of the day, the boys, captain and first mate had had a meeting with Whiskey, who had a plethora of books about trauma and PTSD on her desk. "We should have had him diagnosed a long time ago, but besides some bad dreams, I think we have been downplaying it due to Luffy's strong spirit and Ace and Sabo helping to keep the problem only to themselves." The boys were fidgeting, Ace and Sabo looking ashamed.

"None of us wanted to cause problems. We thought Luffy was doing better," Sabo mumbled.

"I think that Luffy has internalized a lot of his problems. It's necessary to ask for help, Luffy," Whiskey said, turning to the subject of everything. "On a scale of one to ten, how do you feel daily, one being the worst and ten being the best?"

"Four- five," he immediately changed his answer when he saw the looks on his brothers' faces. It was enough to show a big problem. Everyone had caught it, though. They all looked sad.

Ace and Sabo were feeling embarrassed and ashamed, kind of wishing they didn't need to ask for help. But Luffy was most upset, fidgeting with his fingers. "It's only bad dreams," he said in a shaking voice, not making eye contact.

"Bad dreams, anxiety, depression, hiding things, downplaying your emotional pain," Whiskey listed. "Luffy, I think you have been raised with _bad _coping skills. If 'raised' even explains his life so far. I think we've all forgotten what kind of life he's lived based on his drastic improvements since coming aboard the ship."

"What do you mean?" Whitebeard asked.

Luffy was looking uncomfortable. "I don't want to think about that time." Whiskey looked sad about it, and replied emphatically.

"Not thinking about it does not mean it never happened. Luffy, you may have improved a great deal in your not killing people, but you've never been properly cared for. You were raised by people who cut off your arm to see if it'd grow back. Who made you believe killing was completely normal and okay. You were bribed into being happy, as many toys as you could have and spending time with your brothers between jobs," Whiskey said. "I'm so sorry we didn't address this sooner. I think you're progress fooled all of us into thinking you were just fine. That you could bounce back.

"Luffy, what did you do when you felt stressed back at the facility?"

"I saw Ace and Sabo. They fix stuff," Luffy answered honestly.

"So, you've never managed your own stress? You've hidden it or have depended on your brothers to fix it?" The boy nodded. "Do you know how to manage stress?" Luffy responded with his brothers' names. "Were you ever openly abused at your old 'home'? Hit, or taunted."

"No, cause I'd kill them. Then I'd try to forget. I didn't think anything was wrong and it made them not mean to me."

Whiskey was jotting things down while also staying very engaged in the discussion. "So, you killed anyone who was mean? Did you have lingering feelings of self-doubt or guilt after they were gone?" Luffy shook his head.

"I think we can diagnose the _old _Luffy as a psychopath. But, the thing we run into here is that I don't know of any cases where a psychopath has turned himself around like Luffy has, I've never heard of a child so young being this way. You're not even in your double digits yet and you've been used, killed indiscriminately, and have then changed your ways into being someone else. I would lean towards multiple personality disorder but you haven't had a relapse in awhile. You killed on one occasion before you understood that it was wrong.

"Luffy is an anomaly on multiple levels. I need to do a lot of research on this, but I don't even think Wendy would know how to deal with this and she knows psychology much better than I do."

Luffy had tears in his eyes. "I'm unfixable?" he asked in a small voice. Ace and Sabo were both glaring daggers at Whiskey. "I-'m b-roken?"

Whitebeard said, "I think you need to watch what you are saying, Whiskey. Luffy is not just a mystery about his devil fruit anymore, he's part of our family." Whiskey looked ashamed, and clearly had gotten lost in her explanation that she forgot Luffy was just a child, who had been through a lot, and who was right in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she conceded. "I didn't mean to sound insensitive."

"S'okay," Luffy mumbled.

"No, it's not. I'm a nurse and yet I'm just making it worse," she said with a sigh.

"Luffy, you aren't unfixable. No one is unfixable unless they are dead," Marco said strongly. "You just need some finetuning." Luffy didn't look comforted. Ace and Sabo were livid with Whiskey's callous way of speaking. What kind of doctor makes their patient feel worse?

Nobody really knew what to say, and Luffy was growing more upset by the minute. He didn't know how to deal with this and not kill anyone. Whiskey was hurting his feelings, but he didn't feel the desire to kill her for it. Was he really a psychopath? He didn't feel like one anymore. He thought he was better, a good boy now. But now he was unsure. He _wanted _to be a good boy and then he was told he was crazy. That's what psycho meant, right?

"I think that we should have a conversation about Luffy's feelings," Marco suddenly said. The others looked at him, Luffy's eyes red and puffy. "Maybe find out what changed him in the first place, since he clearly has changed. Luffy, what do you feel has changed about you recently?"

"I don't want to kill people anymore. I wanna be a good boy and love Ace and Sabo and be happy. I was happy before Teach, and now I'm messed up and now I'm a psychopath!" Luffy exclaimed. "I wanna be normal!"

There was no loss of control of power. No violent tendency once he was upset. Just hurt and confusion. "Luffy, she said you used to be one. Not anymore"

"She said I can't change!" Luffy argued back.

"Well she's fucking wrong," Ace spat at Whiskey. "Look, you just made things worse! We came for help! And now Luffy's more upset than he was before! Some family you are!" Ace got up and dragged Luffy out of the room, Sabo running to catch up. They needed a break. How could they trust these people to help them with Luffy when all they did was make it even worse?

"Wait, Ace!" Marco called.

"Shut up!" Ace shouted. Sabo hadn't seen Ace like this in years. Not after getting used to Luffy. And Luffy was extremely upset now. Sabo regretted asking for help. They could have done better by themselves. Now none of them trusted the head nurse. She may have fixed Luffy's body physically but just made him worse emotionally.

Ace and Sabo climbed up to the crowsnest, Luffy hanging onto Ace's back as he kept his movements steady, not hurting Luffy's wound. When they made it the rest of the way up, Ace brought a crying Luffy into his arms.

"I thought I wanted to stay here," Sabo muttered. "They made Luffy feel loved, yet now they reduced him to a stressed and emotional mess. I think Whiskey didn't mean to sound so mean, but she worded everything wrong. I don't care about what the normal is. Luffy is ours and he's not broken and we'll help him by ourselves if necessary."

Things had felt so much better before the meeting, but now everyone was upset, Luffy hurting and Ace and Sabo angry. "Don't listen to what she said, Lu. She doesn't know what she's talking about or who you are."

"Who am I?" Luffy muttered. "She said I won't change, but also said I did. I'm confused, now."

"You're _Luffy._ A good boy with a hard past and recent traumatic events. You're devil fruit is an anomaly, something that's never existed before. Who says that's the only thing you're unique with? No one has ever been in your situation, no matter how much Marco compares his past," Sabo said.

Luffy didn't reply right away, so very confused now. "I don't wanna leave. Whiskey was mean and I'm sad and upset but I like Marco and Whitebeard and Thatch. I want my tattoo gone, I want to get better, I want to be stronger, I want to be a good boy, I don't want to kill anyone," he listed.

"And you can do all of those things," Sabo said softly. "You choose who you want to be. Not Whiskey, not anyone else."

"Why don't we make it clear we want another nurse? Whiskey has been helpful before now. But this is too much. She was insensitive," Ace said.

Sabo sighed, looking up at the blue sky and then to the side at the island. "She's definitely not used to being with children," he mumbled. "I believe we should stay here for now. There's nowhere we can go and Luffy's stomach wound isn't healed yet. There are lots of good things about being here, but I have to admit that some bad things have happened on this ship."

"You mean the attempted murder? Then this?" Ace snapped. Sabo nodded. Those were what the was thinking about.

"It was an accident. Not Teach, Whiskey," Luffy muttered. "It's an accident. I'm not broken! I'm not a psychopath, I'm good and will be better!" he exclaimed. "I want to and will be good! I want to be happy, I wanna be normal!"

Sabo hugged Luffy, who sounded stronger than Ace or Sabo ever had. "You're one of a kind, Luffy. No one is like you in the world, so of course there is no record of your situation. Who eats a polluted devil fruit, is used as a weapon, escapes and turns into a better person? Who would survive an attack like Teach's, and doesn't have lingering problems?"

"I'm special, but I wanna be normal," Luffy insisted. Sabo and Ace didn't think there was such a thing as "normal" that Luffy strived to be.

"I don't think any of us will ever be 'normal' kids," Sabo said softly. Luffy pouted. "But we can be good."

"Take me down, I wanna talk back to Whiskey," the youngest declared. He sounded much more put together, seeming to have convinced himself he wasn't broken, even without his brother's extreme insistence.

Ace asked if he was sure, and Luffy nodded. "Alright, hold on tight," Ace said and Luffy latched around his neck and chest like a monkey hanging off of its mother. The three stormed into the infirmary, where the three seemed to be having a tense conversation, Whiskey looking ashamed and both men irritable or regretful. They were all surprised to see Luffy back. He didn't wait for anyone to say anything before talking.

"I'm not a psychopath, I'm Luffy! I'm not broken! I'm Luffy and no one is like me! I don't like what you said about me but I want to be better so I forgive you. But don't say mean things like that again!" Luffy shouted, pointing his finger at Whiskey, who was shocked.

Everyone in the room was shocked. Luffy walked back to his chair and sat down, glaring at the table. "Let's talk again."


	21. A New Type Of Healing

**phoenix: our little Luffy is so brave lol.**

**RIAEVANS: You're very welcome.**

* * *

Marco laid in bed that night, Ace and Luffy asleep, the youngest lethargic after his bath-treatment. He couldn't stop going over the mess that was that day. He was still angry with Whiskey, perturbed at her carelessness with how she spoke, but it seemed to have made Luffy more determined to get better. At least on the outside.

He had to admire him. Luffy had acted more mature than most men on the crew would. He may have shouted and pointed his finger and pouted, but he quickly forgave Whiskey, balancing his anger with understanding. Marco knew that the conversation had been a set back for Ace and Sabo's belief in the crew, which Whiskey was very upset about causing, but Luffy showed true determination and commitment.

Luffy was correct; there was no one like him. By the end of the second talk, Luffy was given a plan to heal. They went through the books together, the child showing incredible attention span for his age. He was determined to be better, and the crew would gladly help him to be. Someone was staying on watch with Luffy's nightmares, and they were planning on treating him as if he had PTSD, which they were strongly leaning towards.

They were going to start regular exercise, since most of the day he was sitting somewhere. His wound made it a bit harder, but he'd be doing periodic walks. No speed was set, just as fast as he could go without hurting himself.

He was also going to meet new people on the crew. They were mostly familiar faces, but isolating himself to the same people and being afraid of new people wasn't helping anyone. He talked to Jinbei, he could talk to the other crew members. But only those Luffy had definitely seen before.

The thing Luffy would have most trouble with would be succumbing to his feelings. Letting it all out and not trying to be strong unless he was all alone with his brothers at night or in the morning. There were many problems from Luffy's childhood from before, along with Ace's and Sabo's as well, but they wanted to take care of the trauma before the lasting damage, though they would definitely take that into account.

By the morning, Marco hadn't slept much, but went into the boys' room to wake Ace and Sabo and ask if they wanted him the bring them breakfast. The sight he met was both older boys curled around Luffy, who was dead to the world, drool down his chin and hands up above his head.

Marco couldn't bring himself to break up the cute scene, so he left to get them breakfast regardless. They would wake up from the smell, not wanting the food to be cold. When he came back, Sabo was up and rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Sabo. I brought you three breakfast," Marco said, not too loudly, not wanting to risk waking up Luffy. Word of last night had not spread, even to the commanders. It was a medical situation and therefore confidential from anyone but the nurse and captain, if even him. Marco only went for support for the boys.

Seeing Luffy's heartbroken face and Ace and Sabo's rage at Whiskey had been hard to watch. No one had seen those expressions yet. Marco was glad they weren't aimed at him, which was stupid, he knew. Ace woke up from the smell and the two older boys dug in.

When Ace held a piece of bacon under Luffy's nose for a few minutes, the little nose wrinkled before he woke up and started digging in, a bit tiredly but it didn't affect his eating. "How'd you sleep, Luffy?"

"No bad dreams," Luffy replied. Everyone smiled, happy that he hadn't had anymore nightmares. It had only been two nights, but so far it was going well.

"What time do you want to do your walk?" Marco asked, eating his own toast. Luffy shrugged before saying after breakfast. Then, there would be a little gathering with those who weren't commanders who were going to meet with Luffy and try to make friends. No one Teach hung out with, for Luffy's sake. They were sure there were no more traitors aboard their ship.

They would then be playing cards, doing a normal activity with other people. Of course, Ace and Sabo would be there, but they would not be the focus of Luffy's attention. All three were nervous but excited for the day, hoping they could help Luffy a lot doing these things. And gain more trust of the crew. Still, only the shipwrights knew about the ruined bedroom as they were going to be the ones to fix it. They were under oath to not spread around what had happened.

The walk was uneventful, and soon there was a table made in the library full of cards and board games. Marco was in the corner to supervise in case something went wrong, not that he thought Luffy would lose control. It was just that, after the nightmare, it had become a small possibility in his eyes. The only time Luffy had unintentionally used his powers was in his sleep. Three members of Marco's division, one of Thatch's and one of Namur's were at the table. They were all people who had been trusted at least once to carry Luffy to bed back when he felt safe enough for people to do so.

They played a game called BS first, which Luffy was actually really good at. He won the first two rounds thanks to his old poker face. The seven of them played happily. Luffy was having fun even if he had his poker face on. When the game changed to Spoons, a fast paces one, Luffy was not the best. Lee was the winner of most of the rounds with great multitasking concentration.

It had Luffy distracted and no one got angry when he tried shuffling and the cards flew everywhere. Laughter rang around the table, and Joseph talked about his previous escapades with gambling, which Luffy didn't understand.

"It's when you're an idiot and throw your money away," Lee explained. Joseph hit him on the shoulder.

"It wasn't throwing money away!" he argued. Perry was shuffling the deck of cards while they talked.

"Oh yeah? Then why were you utterly penniless when we brought you here?" Harris asked, the one from Namur's division. Joseph had no response, and instead of answering, just pouted with his arms crossed. It made the boys laugh at his expense, though he didn't take offense at it.

After another hour of cards, Luffy was called for his first counseling session with Wendy. He was nervous, but in a good mood from the fun he'd just had. He talked about enjoying playing with cards to his brothers and escort, Marco. He'd never played with cards before, and they hadn't even touched the board games. Next time they would.

The counseling room was down the hall of the infirmary, in a cozy room with a porthole and a couch and chair. Ace and Sabo sat outside of the room, Luffy inside by himself with Wendy. If he grew too uncomfortable, the session was over and no one would be upset.

Luffy was surprised with the start of the first session. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, Luffy? Your likes and dislikes, what you find fun." Luffy didn't question her, even if he wanted to. Wendy was supposed to know what she was talking about and would say nicer words than Whiskey had.

"I like my old toys, and coloring and being with my brothers and looking at the sea. I have fun with my brothers, but I don't like when they fight, or leave me alone, which they don't really do. I don't wanna kill anymore, because they told me that was bad, and I want to be good and not kill nice people. Marco said some people are okay to kill, like those bad men on that island, but other people aren't for killing." If Wendy was surprised by the admission, she didn't show it.

"What did you do at the facility for fun?" She wasn't going to go deep into things on the first session. That's not how she did things.

Luffy answered immediately. "Played with Ace and Sabo in our room." Wendy asked if that was it, and Luffy nodded. "Have you ever had fun with your devil fruit? Something other than hurting anyone?" The boy shook his head.

"I only did jobs," he said, returning to the subject Wendy kept pushing them away from.

She was writing things down quickly, but also paying full attention to Luffy, making eye contact most of the time. "Ace and Sabo are your whole life, basically?" the nurse/counselor asked with a smile. Luffy nodded. "Have you ever been without them besides with jobs you went on?" Luffy shook his head.

"Before I found them, I didn't know them. I found them on a job and then wanted to take them with me. I don't know why, never knew why. Just thought they were good. They didn't like me at first, which hurt, but then they started to like me and now we're brothers. But, I feel guilty for forcing them to stay, even if I didn't know about them wanting to leave so badly," Luffy explained, finishing in an ashamed voice.

"Thank you for sharing. Last, before we end, will you tell me your goals of coming here? What do you wish to get out of our future sessions?" Wendy asked with a smile. Luffy answered right away.

"I don't want nightmares, or to be scared of new people and places. I want to be normal, like I was for a little bit. I liked that me and I want to be like that again. I'm good, I _know _I am, at least now, but I'm not how I want to be after what happened," the youngest explained. Wendy was scribbling down on her note pad.

She smiled at him and closed to notepad. Luffy hadn't noticed how much she'd written down. It went very fast. "Those are some good goals to strive for. To make it more simple, you wish to deal with the trauma, the nightmares and fear, and to be a better person from it?" Luffy nodded in agreement.

"I think that is good for today. You did very well. Thank you, and don't worry, I will tell no one what you have said to me. Not even the captain," the nurse promised. "Our head nurse has felt very badly about upsetting you, so I'd like to thank you personally for forgiving her."

The boy nodded and got up to leave. "When will you like to see me again?" Luffy shrugged, not really caring much. It wasn't as bad as Ace made it seem like it was going to be. Wendy seemed nice, and didn't push him to talk about serious stuff that he kept accidentally bringing up.

"How about in three days? Two days after you go onto the island?"

"Okay," and he left. Ace and Sabo were waiting outside, and Thatch was there, too, with two big picnic baskets.

"Ready to go, Luffy? I have some yummy food and blankets for a picnic," the chef said enthusiastically, holding up the baskets.

"What's a picnic?" Luffy questioned, never having heard of one. They didn't exactly do things like that at the facility. Thatch looked sad for a moment before recovering.

"It's when you go to someplace outside and eat a meal. There's a nice flower field I'm planning on taking you, far from the cities. It'll be fun! I heard you had a lot of fun playing cards, so we can bring a deck of those too, if you'd like," Thatch offered with a grin. Luffy nodded, and they walked out onto deck and to the ramp that was put down that morning.

Ace and Sabo stood on either side of Luffy, just in case he stumbled and fell, but the worry was unwarranted, as Luffy had perfect balance. He was thinking about his meeting, and wondering if that was how it was for everyone who went to see Wendy.

"Thatch, have you ever gone to counseling with Wendy?" Luffy wondered. He didn't know if Thatch would tell him, but he was curious to compare. Not substance, but how the process was for other people.

"Not with Wendy, but I did for one of our previous nurses years ago. I think Wendy is nicer than Umi was. She was a bit blunt, to be honest. Like she wanted to beat the sadness out of you, not physically of course," he said cheerfully.

"Oh, okay," Luffy replied. "Wendy seems nice. It was a really short meeting," the boy commented as they walked through the forest, everyone keeping a lookout for anything dangerous. Despite Luffy's stomach being in good shape, he wasn't allowed to shift still, which made him only able to use part of his body to crush others if necessary. He couldn't trap them since he was unable to become big enough to do so.

"Yeah, the first meeting is usually short, trying to get to know you slowly, not to rush things. Slow and steady wins the race," the chef said. The walk to the field wasn't long, and Thatch was cheerfully swinging the baskets back and forth. The boys took in the scenery, Ace and Sabo the most.

When they entered the meadow, Luffy thought it was beautiful, and his brothers agreed. There were bright pink and yellow flowers everywhere. Thatch strode out into the flowers and grass and pulled a blanket out of one of the baskets and spread it over the flowers after shaking it out a couple times. The three followed in Thatch's footsteps, not wanting to trample any more flowers. Thatch laid out a huge platter of sliced chicken, fruits, some jello in a container, and freshly baked bread and home made donuts.

The boys all drooled at it, Sabo wiping his away the second he noticed it. "No grabby hands, we gotta eat slowly," Thatch said when Luffy reached for the first thing. "Our hands are dirty, so we are using silverware."

Sabo noticed something wrong with that logic. "We eat bread with forks?" he asked. Thatch looked confused a moment before he smacked his palm to his foreheard. But he regained composure quickly.

"Well, we can try at least?" he said, more of a question than a statement. The four ate the food slowly, enjoying it. Ace lit on fire a couple times, probably because he was finally not on a wooden surface. It was interesting that his clothes went along with the fire as well, when Luffy's were ruined by the spikes coming out of him.

"Hey Thatch, do you know a lot about devil fruits?" Ace questioned after his fire died out on its own.

"Nope," he answered and returned to his roll. He was saving most of the food for the boys, not eating much of it. "Why do you ask?"

Ace finished his bite of jello and took a drink of water before replying. "Well, why do my clothes catch on fire fine, but some of Luffy's are destroyed? You'd think it would stay constant between devil fruits, you know? Just makes me wonder. And Marco's clothes change, as well."

Sabo answered. "Don't forget, Luffy's fruit was tampered with and mutated. Things aren't gonna be the same with his powers than other fruits," he replied. "I think we could study Luffy's fruit for years and still not solve it completely." Thatch agreed, nodding his head as well.

"My fruit is cool. But Marco's is more cool cause he can fly," Luffy said with a mouthful of donut.

"Yeah, but he used to suffer from bird jokes a lot. Until he assigned everyone who called him that cleaning duty for a month. Let me tell you, the ship had never been cleaner," Thatch said with a laugh. "He exercised his rare first-mate privileges to punish the commanders as well. Plus, Pops went along with it. Even though he was guilty of it as well, since he's captain, of course one of his subordinates would not be able to punish him."

The boys smiled, amused by the story. "So, are you guys gonna join or what?" Thatch suddenly asked.

"I thought Whitebeard wasn't gonna ask us yet," Sabo said in confusion. Thatch shut his mouth loudly and then cursed.

"Nooo! I ruined the surprise!" he lamented.

"It wasn't a surprise, Marco already told us about it," Ace said, a little sharply. Sabo nudged him with a frown, and Ace lost the edge. "We're not sure yet."

"Why not?" Thatch asked (whined).

"Whiskey said some very hurtful things to Luffy. We don't blame you for Teach's actions, but Whiskey told him he was a psychopath that couldn't be fixed," Sabo explained with a deep frown. Thatch's jaw dropped in horror.

"She said _WHAT?!" _he exclaimed in pure rage. "How could she say something like that?! That's so mean! Luffy's clearly changed from before!" the chef ranted. Ace and Sabo nodded along.

"I already forgave her, even if I was hurt and upset by what she said. But she was wrong. I'm not a psychopath and I'm better now, which meant I _did _change. So she was wrong," Luffy explained calmly, though thinking about what the head nurse had said still hurt his feelings. Even if he did forgive, he couldn't forget.

"Hmph," Thatch said, crossing his arms. "I'm still mad about that. I've never seen anyone change so drastically in such a small timeframe. In a good way. But, I guess I could say Teach changed really suddenly, for the worse."

Ace and Sabo finished the last of the bread while Luffy took the last spoonful of jello. "Well, he was bad from the start, just no one knew," said Sabo. Thatch looked bummed for a moment before taking a glass of his water.

"Yeah, he was," he finally agreed. After the food was all gone, Thatch put the containers back in their baskets and pulled out the deck of cards. They played for awhile before they all just laid down on their backs and watched the clouds move.

"I have a question," Thatch said, breaking the comfortable silence. "What did you boys want to be when you grew up?"

"Marines," Ace said in a flat voice. When Thatch gasped, the freckled child laughed. "Just kidding. Fuck marines."

"Phew! You had me scared for a minute there," Thatch said with good humor.

Ace and Sabo shared a look, while Luffy looked up at the sky with a blank face. "Well, Sabo and I wanted to grow up and be pirate captains. We argued a lot about who would be captain, so we just settled on co-captains. We were planning on setting out at seventeen, so we have to do some other stuff before we get that old. And Luffy's coming, too, of course," Ace made sure to add.

"What do you want to be, Luffy?" Thatch asked in an interested voice.

"I don't know," Luffy said honestly. "Never thought I could or wanted to be anything other than what I was."

Thatch frowned deeply at that, and Ace and Sabo just felt pity, something they rarely felt for Luffy. Mostly sympathy and empathy now. "Well, now that you know that you _can _be something, anything, you want, what would you want to be?"

"Hmm… I don't know. No matter what, I want to stay with my brothers," he answered, not really knowing what to say. He didn't really think about anything but wanting to get better, wanting to be a good person. Not killing was easy, but maybe only because he didn't wanna kill everyone around him. No one was mean to him on the ship.

Ace shook him out of the dark thoughts he was heading towards by taking his hand. "You have a long life to make up what you want to be, even if someday you don't want to stay with us," he said gently. "Like everyone keeps saying, be who you want to be. Right?" Luffy smiled and nodded.

Once it started getting later and more chilly, the four packed up, Ace and Sabo carrying the baskets while Luffy had picked some flowers. He didn't tell them why, or where he was going to put them. "They're pretty, so I want to take them," was his explanation.

When they reached the ship, Luffy mad a beeline to Marco and Whitebeard. Ace and Sabo followed while Thatch returned the containers to the kitchen to wash before dinner, that his sou chefs were working on without him, since he was gone with the boys most of the day.

"Hello, boys, did you like the picnic?" Whitebeard asked. The three nodded. Then, Luffy held up his fistful of flowers. Both pirates looked surprised.

"Thanks for being nice to us," was Luffy's explanation. The flowers were much too small for Whitebeard to take, so Marco did, smiling at Luffy.

"That's very nice of you, but you don't need to thank us," Marco said lightly. "We're pirates, we do what we want. There's no need to thank us for doing what we want, right?" Ace and Sabo nodded in agreement. Luffy looked a bit confused, since his brothers had told him that thanking someone for doing something kind to them was normal. Luffy strived to be as normal as he could.

"Oh," was his only reply.

"Since the stems are so short, how about we press them and keep them in a book?" he offered. Luffy didn't know what that meant, so Sabo explained for him. "That way they'll be around longer."

"Okay!" Luffy said, thinking that was a good idea.


	22. Wishing To Stay

**RIAEVANS: You're welcome.**

**phoenix: Indeed.**

* * *

Marco walked through the ship to go to find a very heavy book, finding an encyclopedia in the library and putting the little flowers inside, weighing the book down by sitting a second book on top. The first mate couldn't help but be angry.

How could anyone manipulate a child who was deep down like _this_, into a killing machine? It was sick. If it was an adult, it was bad enough, but Luffy had been raised to be a weapon up until he was eight years old. It was sickening and Marco wished he could go back in time and make everyone at that place _suffer. _

He walked straight to the kitchen, where Thatch was washing the containers and utensils at the picnic. He looked up at his best friend and brother. "Thatch, we need to go someplace private," Marco said in a clipped voice. Thatch worried he was in trouble about something, but agreed and followed Marco into the strorage room away from bedrooms or recreational rooms.

"What's wrong, buddy?" the chef asked nervously.

"How the _fuck _could anyone manipulate Luffy into a killing machine?! How could he think he was so broken? How could a little boy who picked us flowers ever fall into peoples' hands like that?! How could they damage him?! Who would do that?! I want to go back and kill them, torture them for doing that!" he ranted and raved.

Thatch frowned, becoming angry, too.

"When I was at that place, the boss, whatever the fuck-head's name was, told Luffy I was going to hurt his brothers. Caused him genuine distress and anger just to make me upset. Then, he took Ace in and said that, if I didn't call Pops, he'd kill Ace and leave him for me to look at and feel guilty," Marco growled. "It's not just Luffy that's damaged."

Thatch was furious that any child would be treated like that, both Luffy and Ace's stories. "They brainwashed Luffy. He thought they cared about his brothers because _he did_. They were only there because Luffy would have killed anyone who hurt them. They were like, like, _pet _brothers!" Marco actually punched the wall, leaving a hole. Thatch was shocked, never, _ever _seeing Marco like this.

When Teach betrayed, Marco was pissed, but he wasn't like this. Thatch felt almost unsafe in the room with him like this. But, he needed to be calmed down.

"That's why we're here, to help them," he said softly, hoping it would rub off on Marco. It just made him angrier.

"Oh, yeah and we're doing a great job! One murder attempt and our head nurse telling Luffy that, as a psychopath, he couldn't be fixed! We're making things worse! On the surface, we're doing them well, but we keep FUCKING UP!" Marco ranted, flaring up into his blue flames.

Thatch put his hands up. "Marco, calm down. You won't think straight being this angry. Don't destroy more of the room," the chef said, a bit sternly but also softly. "What Teach did was not us, it was a defected 'brother' who would betray us with or without finding Luffy. I can't speak for Whiskey. I really can't, I don't know how she could be so tactless to him."

"Thatch, I want them to stay, but I'm worried we'll just make things worse. I really like all three, but those on our crew have _hurt Luffy. _And by default, hurt his brothers as well," Marco stressed. He adored them, and wanted to help, but was feeling doubt about their ability to do so. No one had even been in this situation on their ship before.

"And they could choose to stay. They've forgiven us for Teach, and Luffy forgave Whiskey, though I don't think Ace or Sabo have. We gave them a home. He wrecked one of our bedrooms from a nightmare and we gave him another one and are trying to help him overcome his trauma. We're doing the right thing, we've just had two major slip ups," the chef said. He put his hand on Marco's shoulder, grounding him.

"Do you want to risk doing some harm to someone? Snapping and hurting feelings, or losing control?" Marco shook his head. "Then take nice deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth." The first mate slowly calmed down, and sighed after looking at the hole he'd put in the wall.

He was able to stick his fist inside, and the wood had cracked around it. "Fossa's gonna be mad and everyone else is gonna make fun of me," Marco mumbled.

Thatch wrapped his arm around Marco's shoulders. "Probably. Right now, you need a drink." Marco agreed, though he was unable to get as drunk as his brothers. But, alcohol calmed him sometimes. So, he and Thatch went to the lounge, more like a bar now since Luffy came.

Marco downed three shots of hard alcohol before he finally calmed down. "I wish we had found them sooner," Marco said in a sad voice. Also quiet, as there were other pirates drinking in the large room, but left the two commanders alone to talk.

"You mean you wish Luffy had kidnapped you sooner?" Thatch teased. It didn't help.

"If that's what it took to find them, then yeah," the phoenix replied. "We may be pirates, and people may say we're evil, but _those _people were truly evil. I will never forgive or forget what they've done to these children." Thatch pat his back.

"I agree," was the chef's response. He didn't drink anything as he would be affected unlike his brother. The two sat in silence for awhile, in their own, negative thoughts. Marco blamed himself for not finding them, even though he knew that was irrational. At least the marines weren't the ones to discover Luffy. They would have killed him after they learned he'd killed marines in his long time of commiting murder because of what other people wanted.

Marco wondered if Luffy really did leave no survivors on his jobs. Izo was the only one who witnessed his power to use his fruit to kill, and he described it as vicious, but it seemed like Luffy had no fun in it. Marco was adamantly against Whiskey's loose diagnosis as Luffy being a psychopath.

He read up on that damn word in the books in the infirmary. The old Luffy may have fit, but unless the boy is as skilled at fakery as he is at his devil fruit, then he was no longer classified as a psychopath. He changed, and because he was capable of that change, he was not a psychopath.

After Marco had left after the meeting, he knew Whiskey got a very firm talking-to after how she had hurt young Luffy's feelings. Whitebeard may be a fierce emperor, but he respected the feelings of the people he cared about. That's why he never took his jokes at his children too far. Never crossed the line into cruelty. Whiskey really needed to learn to hold her tongue when the moment was not right.

If the head nurse had told Marco and Whitebeard the suspicion before or after the boys were there, then the two men would have told her not to say that in front of, or to, Luffy. But, it was too late for that, and Marco just hoped Luffy's forgiving her was genuine, and not just because he felt he had to.

After talking to Thatch and having some drinks to calm him down, he left to go and alert Fossa to another wall his division needed to fix. They'd bought a ton of wood from the island, which was resting below deck in the storage room for the shipwrights, which was quite large, with everything they'd need to fix the ship.

Only Fossa's division had been alerted about the room's condition, but were not told what had happened. Captain's orders were to not spread around the information that Luffy lost control. It might be detrimental to trust that might drive the boys away before they agreed to join, which still was up in the air. Especially after the Whiskey incident that earned her a firm talking to.

At dinner, Marco was quiet, still a bit upset though he had been calmed down. Thatch handled his anger and ranting well. Pops was watching Marco closely, he didn't need to look to see it. He knew he'd be getting a talking to after dinner.

Luffy watched Marco nervously, and the man realized he'd never returned after Luffy gave him the flower. "I'm sorry I didn't come back out after pressing the flowers. It will take awhile before we can see them completely pressed. I just needed some time to reflect on some things." Luffy looked to Sabo.

"He means he had to think," Sabo said simply. Luffy nodded, but still looked unsure. Marco cursed himself, still angry at the people who hurt Luffy.

"Tami collects flowers in a flower book, where there are descriptions and drawing and everything. I'm sure she'd appreciate it when the flowers are fully pressed," the first mate said. Luffy smiled and looked up. "Okay. I know I crushed them, it was an accident."

"Wait, Luffy gave you flowers?" Haruta questioned. Marco shot him a glance, knowing he would pull a Thatch and shout about how cute it was, and it definitely was cute. He just didn't know what Luffy thought about being called cute.

"Yeah, gave them to Marco and I as a thank you for being nice," Whitebeard said with a grin, taking a drink of his sake. Vista had gone to one of the shops at the island and gotten a sealed plastic bottle, that would only have the liquid inside come out by the drinker biting down on the cap and sucking in. It looked ridiculous for the man, but it was to further keep Luffy safe from the only thing that could scar him. The burn was still bothering him, after all.

Everyone else were used to being confined to the back deck or in the lounge/bar to drink. They adapted much better than having a decided time to drink or not to drink. Damn fools. Luffy ate his large serving of pasta quickly. He ate like a starving person but wasn't left starving at the other place.

"Marco, was Wendy your counselor?" Luffy asked, mouth full of steamed zucchini.

"No, she was not. It was another woman who has left the ship," Marco replied easily. He didn't feel like talking about it, but most of the commanders knew about Marco's past on the crew, even if they didn't know about how he was before joining.

"Oh," was the boy's reply.

"Wendy is much nicer than she was," Marco added. The youngest nodded, saying Thatch told him the same thing. Whitebeard laughed.

"Marie was not the most tactful nurse we've had. Well, was the least tactful one we've had," the captain added when Ace's started to glare. Like the man had not addressed Whiskey's mistake before. "So, Luffy, how did today go? With your injury?"

"I didn't hurt it, and the picnic was fun. And playing cards was fun, too," Luffy explained. Whitebeard grinned.

"That's good to hear. But, we're just getting started," Thatch said, now sitting and eating his own dinner. "We'll do everything to make you feel better physically and mentally. No one wants to be sad all of the time, or scared. I know most of the commanders know how that feels." Luffy looked down the long table to see most of the leaders nodding in agreement.

"Really?" more nods from the commanders.

"One of the most common things that drives men to the sea to become lawless explorers, is not a perfect past. Bad pasts drive people away from where it took place in, y'know? That's almost like a theme on the ship. After we join, Pops says we're reborn as children of the sea," Haruta explained with a grin.

"Reborn? I wish I could be reborn, too," Luffy said, a bit sadly but also thoughtfully. He didn't mean to sound sad about it.

"Luffy, when you decided to change your ways and be 'good', you were already reborn. You don't have to die to be reborn, it mostly means emotionally, or as a person in general, you are reborn when you decide to change for the better," Vista explained.

Luffy beamed, and went back to eating happily. The commanders grinned at Vista, who looked very proud of himself and resumed eating his own meal.

-x-

The next couple of days, the boys stayed on the ship mostly. Luffy played cards until he got uncomfortable, which he would not show. It was only thanks to Ace and Sabo knowing him well enough to sense when he was overwhelmed. Trying too hard would be detrimental, was what Marco had said.

The table was understanding when Sabo made up a lie to get Luffy to leave without feeling bad or embarrassed. His wound had started to heal at a faster pace, and Tami told him it would be gone in a few days. Something had sped up his recovery, and the boys couldn't help but think it was thanks to the friendly atmosphere, that it affected Luffy's physical health and not just mental.

The bath at night approach worked, though Ace and Sabo no longer saw Whiskey as _their _nurse. She'd lost that when she accused Luffy of being an incurable psychopath. No matter how much Marco apologized for her, saying it was an accident, she would not regain their trust that easily.

She was careless with her words and working with someone who has emotional issues and trauma, you need to be able to speak to them correctly! Every time the three were in the infirmary to get Luffy checked up every day, like usual, the refused to speak or meet with Whiskey.

Luffy didn't fight over it, knowing it would upset Ace and Sabo. Luffy had forgiven her, but didn't really feel the desire to interact with her anymore. Thank goodness there were many nurses who were capable as well. Luffy would feel Whiskey staring at his back, but never turned around. Ace did, however, to administer cold glares.

"Well, because you are seeming to heal more rapidly compared to Whiskey's previous findings, I think that, by the end of the week, Luffy will be running and not just walking. You will also be able to use your powers again fully," Tami explained, giving the kids warm smiles. "Now, all that is left is the trauma to your mind. You won't need to worry about a physical injury."

The boys were happy with the results, and Luffy couldn't wait to play again, sick of having to walk everywhere. The time after being on the ship and before Teach's attack had been nice. Luffy had been able to run around, was not stuck in a single room and was able to do something outside other than the boss's missions.

They left the island three days after docking, heading to the next island on their course to the area farthest from the exit to Paradise since they had already explored everything near the Red Line. When Luffy asked where they were going to go next, Thatch had explained this.

"New adventures await us, boys," Thatch said while the three helped him cook dessert. Luffy was not good at anything but mixing the batter for brownies.

"Like in Sabo's stories?" Luffy wondered as he was very clearly caught sticking a finger in the batter and licking it off, before going back to mixing.

"No eating the batter uncooked, Lu. It has raw egg in it, which can make you sick. Wait until the brownies are cooked," Sabo stressed as he went to the oven to check if it was at the right temperature.

"How d'you know that, Sabo?" Ace asked. "We've never made brownies before." He sounded a bit suspicious.

Sabo went to the counter and picked up along sheet of paper. It had tons of little notes jotted down, and was clearly old. "Thatch has a bunch of notes on here, and I can read, so I did." Luffy and Ace both pouted, wishing they could read better.

"Anyways, yes, Luffy, adventures like stories. We have fun and explore, have parties, meet new people and find new foods," Thatch explained in a grand voice. "It's fun! It'll always be like that if you guys stay."

There it was again. Thatch was not subtle about his wish that the three would stay. Ace and Sabo had a feeling he didn't even notice he was doing it, and when he might have, he wasn't trying to make them uncomfortable. That's the only thing they found kept the discomfort away. The three were still not completely sure, and would not agree to stay or leave until they knew _for sure. _

Marco walked in after Thatch took the bowl of brownie batter and poured it into the giant pan. Making Luffy giggle, Thatch stood in front of him and blocked his view before handing him the spoon to lick clean.

"Thatch, that's not being a good role model," Marco said dryly, catching Thatch in the act. His face turned surprise.

"What are you talking about, dear Marco?" Thatch asked in fake-confusion while Luffy licked off all of the spoon and then tossed it in the sink. Ace and Sabo noticed and looked at Luffy's guilty face, chocolate smeared all around his mouth.

"Luffy, I said eating that is bad for you," Sabo said irritably. "Thatch, don't give him unhealthy stuff. It said on the notes that raw egg was not good to eat," Ace was stuck between laughing and yelling about endangering his baby brother.

"I eat the batter all the time, _and _raw cookie dough," Thatch said in an almost bragging voice. Luffy noticed the disapproval on his brothers' faces and his expression fell.

"Sorry, Ace, Sabo. It was yummy so I just ate it," Luffy said with a small voice. Marco glared at Thatch, who looked sheepish. He apologized as well, to the older brothers. After the boys cleaned up the kitchen, and washed the dishes, they left.

Walking down the halls, Luffy apologized again, thinking his brothers were still mad. "Luffy, we're not mad anymore. We weren't _mad, _but irritated. Thatch isn't really a good role model. He acts like a kid himself."

Ace huffed. "Luffy doesn't need role models, other than us," he grumbled. Sabo chuckled.

"Guess you're right. Good role models for being _four years older_. Well, don't we all need role models?" Sabo pointed out. Ace balked at this, shooting back that no one was there to be good role models for them.

"What about Whitebeard?" Luffy questioned. He didn't see why Ace was saying these things. He thought that Marco and Whitebeard were good people, and lots of the crew looked up to the captain and commanders. "He's a good guy, taking care of us after I stole Marco from him." Sabo pointedly looked to Ace, who had nothing he could argue. There was no way to disagree with what Luffy said. Ace just didn't like the thought of having to copy anyone or follow in their footsteps.

"Well... I don't know," Ace finally conceded. Luffy frowned.

"They're good people, besides Teach and the mean things Whiskey said about me," Luffy pointed out. Sabo didn't disagree, but Ace scoffed.

"That woman called you something much more hurtful than _mean. _She demeaned your progress into a new person, throwing around her 'knowledge' like she was the smartest one in the room. You may have forgiven her, Luffy, and that's great, but I haven't forgiven her," Ace said in an angry voice. Sabo said nothing on the subject, not wanting to get in an argument with his freckled brother.

The three passed the bar room, and Ace and Sabo automatically shielded Luffy from the things in the room. It was the most dangerous place on the ship for the youngest. Full of varying types and potencies of alcohol, Luffy's greatest weakness. They passed by the room quickly, the sounds of drunken pirates fading away.

Going out on deck, they met Haruta running from Vista, who was covered in paint and had his swords out, swearing at the younger commander. The boys wondered what had happened, and when Whitebeard saw them on deck, he called, "A prank," as an explanation. The three nodded, understanding.

The boys stayed near the railing for while, talking about small things, before Tami approached them on deck, reminding them that Luffy had a check up to go to. The boys had forgotten, and followed the nurse into the infirmary. Luffy took off his shirt to show his burn, which was healed completely. Just yesterday it had still been irritated, but now it was healed. A scar was there, but when Tami poked it, it didn't hurt like how it had been for weeks. Painful, horrible weeks.

"You're in the clear, but wait another day until you can transform into your other forms. You have an appointment with Wendy today, Luffy. At 3:00. It's 2:47 right now, so you might want to get going," Tami explained. It was Luffy's third visit to Wendy. The second one had been uneventful, as Wendy asked him about the future he wanted, which was a difficult question because he just didn't know.

"I'm also supposed to play games today," Luffy commented. "But after Wendy." Tami smiled, and commented on how well the boy was doing with his treatment. Luffy thanked her and the three headed to the counseling room, where Wendy was waiting. Luffy went inside while Ace and Sabo stayed outside, near the closed door.

Wendy greeted Luffy, who went to the comfy couch like he had the other two times. "Hi, Wendy," Luffy replied.

This time, Wendy asked more personal questions, and Luffy told her more things than she expected. "Can you tell me what you first remember at your time in the facility?" she asked calmly.

"They gave me toys a lot, and I remember the first job I had was to kill the dicator of a little country that I didn't know why. I didn't think about it cause I didn't know it was wrong," Luffy explained, quick to add the last part. Wendy made no show of what she thought about his answer. She also knew Luffy meant "dictator".

"Do you remember how they treated you when you were young? Besides giving you toys and making you go on jobs?" the nurse questioned. Luffy shook his head.

"I know they did bad things and were mean sometimes but they didn't hurt me. I don't remember them hurting me, I don't remember them taking my arm or burning me or giving me the tattoo," the boy replied. "I didn't think they were doing bad stuff to me, but now i know cause everyone told me."

The two talked more about how the men at the facility treated Luffy, and anyone who wasn't Luffy could practically feel the anger Wendy was doing a good job hiding from the boy. Wendy had not heard of his arm getting chopped off, as it was confidential information for Whiskey, his previous nurse. Wendy didn't ask about it, as Luffy brushed it off as unimportant, and that he couldn't remember it in the first place.

Near the end of the fifteen minute session, Wendy made sure to ask about something positive, that she didn't know was tinged with negative feelings. "How did you meet your brothers?"

"I was on a mission and after I killed all the marines I found them hiding in a dumpster and took them back with me," he replied simply. Wendy wrote that down and, with a smile, excused Luffy. "I will see you on Friday, how does that sound?" Wendy asked politely.

"'Kay," Luffy said and left the room, going to see his brothers and tell them about the session, like he'd done for the last two sessions.


	23. Fighting, No Killing

**RIAEVANS: Thanks!**

**phoenix: Thank you! I have that be Marco's backstory in multiple fics.**

**Just finished another sort of fix-it/sorta time travel fic and am editing it right now. It's very different from my last fix it (from like, a week ago). 78,000 words in 6 days, so I was clearly really into it. I hope you check it out once I post it! There are some gruesome descriptions in this chapter, but nothing worse than what we've already seen. Enjoy~**

Luffy stood in the commanders bathroom, in his huge form, made of sticky black goo and slime, staring in the mirror. He hadn't know he'd missed being able to turn like this, even though he was gross and ugly to look at. He felt more powerful like this, less vulnerable.

It had only been two days since he was given the all-clear and he not changed forms often, mostly in their room or when Ace and Sabo were bathing, since Luffy bathed at night before bed. "Luffy, why are you in that form?" Sabo questioned curiously. Both boys had gotten over the sight of their brother like that. Since the boy had no face or mouth in that form, he couldn't speak. He changed back seamlessly into human form, shrinking and his skin turning the tan color again.

"Makes me feel stronger," he replied, and then walked towards the bath, putting his feet in the water. "It's too big to walk around in, but I haven't been allowed to be like that in a long time. I'm sad everyone thinks it's scary looking. I'm not gonna hurt anyone here."

Ace was lethargic, sitting in the shallow part of the bath, and asked, "What does it feel like to crush someone when they're inside you?" Luffy and Sabo were surprised by the question, but Luffy told the truth.

"Like when you tense your stomach. Then they get crushed and I throw them out. Like, spit them out but I don't have a mouth or eat them," he explained honestly.

"Does it feel weird?" Sabo questioned, becoming interested as well. They'd never really asked Luffy about his powers in that form, since they only found out about it a few months ago, and had been distracted by other things.

Luffy shrugged in response. "Not too much."

"How do you see and smell and hear if you have no face?" Ace asked next.

"I dunno. I just do," was his answer. It wasn't what the boys were hoping for, but they didn't press it or make him feel stupid for not knowing. Ace than asked what it felt like to be sticky. "I don't know anything else. It's normal for me. And helpful when I have to climb stuff or grab things or stay in the same place. So it's not too bad."

The three stayed quiet for a little while, enjoying the nice silence. They were able to reserve the commanders' shared bathroom because they were uncomfortable being naked around strangers. Ace especially. They may know the commanders, but were still not comfortable being in the nude around anyone other than each other. After all, they had bathed together before when Luffy had insisted they be clean, but _he also _wanted bath so it made sense to share!

After the water cooled down, the boys dressed and left. It was time for Ace and Sabo's training, while Luffy was in partial form, trying to form his body in different shapes. It didn't go very well, but people were staring at his humanoid form even though he was doused in that sticky substance. It didn't bother him though, as the stickiness was normal for him. He was so happy his injury was healed.

Ace fought against Marco so no one got burned, and he lost pathetically. He had said not to go easy on him, so the phoenix was just doing as he asked. He did refuse to fly, though, since most of the opponents, if not all, that Ace would fight in the future could not fly. It was rare to have a devil fruit that could make someone able to fly.

Sabo trained with his jitte, which was officially given to him as a present, against Vista. He was much bigger than Sabo, but everyone was bigger than the boys. Whitebeard watched from his throne as the boys fought and Luffy sat and tried to work his own fruit in different ways.

He finally formed a circle in his hadn't of the goo, which was a success to him, and he got up and cheered, the stickiness on his bottom snapping back up once it was no longer attached to the ground. The substance disappeared and Luffy told his brothers what he'd done.

Vista and Marco were skilled enough to stop their attacks the moment Luffy got his brothers' attention. "Good job!" Sabo exclaimed, earning a grin from Luffy. "I'm sure you can show anyone with our next game."

Just then, Thatch came out. "My boys, our game today with be a celebration of Luffy's full physical recovery!" he shouted with a giant grin, holding a box of balls. Luffy ran over and asked what it was, relishing in the ability to run again.

"Dodge ball!" Thatch exclaimed. None of the boys had played it before, so Thatch explained the rules. Everyone around seemed excited, so Sabo assumed they hadn't played this often before the boys came along, since it had never been played while they were there.

"We play it after some parties when we're all drunk," Marco explained, having come outside as well. That made sense, since the pirates had severely limited their outdoor parties after the boys arrived. It didn't click for Luffy, for he might have felt guilty.

"Ace and Luffy will be fine if they are hit, as haki is not allowed!" Thatch shouted for everyone to hear. "Now, if you catch it, the person who threw it is out!" Luffy grinned mischievously. He knew a way to catch the ball every time. Thatch clearly saw the look. "Ah, ah, no devil fruits allowed." Luffy pouted, earning a chuckle from the captain, who was watching everything. "Now, being hit is nothing personal, it's just how the game works. There are two teams, and the game is played on the deck.

Izo was running a piece of yellow tape across the deck. "No passing the tape." The three nodded excitedly, Sabo putting the jitte away and being sorted with his brothers. No one would separate them, so they were all on the same team. The balls were put in the middle of the court. "Namur is on retrieve duty!" The fishman grumbled, but agreed to fish out the balls if they go over the side of the ship so they didn't lose any of them.

"Ready… and… GO!" Thatch shouted, the hundreds of pirates running forward and taking the balls. Ace, Sabo and Luffy didn't run forward, and Luffy was determined to catch the balls. The three dodged them and picked them up to throw them back. Luffy nailed someone in the crotch, throwing the ball much harder than anyone thought he would. Ace was just as violent, nailing a few pirates in the face until he was told they couldn't hit faces.

Sabo was doing a better job catching the balls, but dropped one and was out. "Haha, Sabo!" Ace taunted, earning a disgruntled glare at him from the blonde. It was a lot of fun, until Ace got out, which made him growl, but stomp out of the court. Luffy was small enough to dodge easily, ducking and catching the balls what he could.

He accidentally let one slip out of his hand, only for Jozu to catch it before it hit the deck, saving Luffy. "Thank you!" Luffy shouted as he dodged another ball tossed at incredible speeds. You could tell who the strong ones were on the crew.

The three brothers were surprised with how merciless the otherwise calm Marco was being, pulling no punches against his ship brothers. The commanders were divided between the teams, and only one of them was out, which was Jiru, and Namur was doing his duty at fetching the many balls being thrown over the side of the ship.

Luffy was beaming the whole time, and when he got hit in the arm, it stuck to him, and he was out because of that. After all, no devil fruits were allowed. But, he was a good sport about it and ran off the court grinning. "That was fun!" Luffy exclaimed when he ran to his brothers, who were sitting against the railing and watching.

Sabo ruffled Luffy's hair. "You lasted a long time, Lu," he praised. "I'm glad you had fun." Perry, one of the underling pirates, said, "Did you think we were done after this round? It's only mid-afternoon, we play for hours."

"Yay!" Luffy cheered. They watched the game happily, and everyone cheered when Marco was out. A ball bounced out of someone else's hand and hit him in the back, disqualifying both of them.

Thatch got out quickly afterwards and then went inside to fetch some water for the sweating pirates. He brought out a barrel of water with a huge stack of plastic cups. "Shoulda' brought this out sooner, commander!" someone complained. Thatch rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, Leon, I didn't think about it," the chef replied in good nature. The pirates and boys gulped down the water, liking how nice and cold it was.

The round was almost over, only six on one team and three on the other and no one was surprised they were all commanders, when Namur shouted that the game was over. "The air pressure changed, we're gonna hit a storm!" he shouted.

Ace, Luffy and Sabo collected the balls in the box while the pirates got ready for the storm, effortlessly preparing the ship. "Inside, boys!" Whitebeard called as he helped, too. The three hurried inside, Ace holding the crate of balls above his head and brining it to the galley, not sure of where to take it.

"That was more fun than cards. And people helped me, too, and said nice things when I dodged or got someone!" Luffy gushed while they held onto the tables while the ship swayed so they weren't thrown everywhere. Luffy was glad his stomach no longer hurt when they were jostled about.

Sabo nodded. "I gotta agree. That was very fun."

"Today was a good day so far. I played a fun game, could change into my other from and made made improvement with my powers," Luffy said with a very positive face, grinning ear to ear. If they weren't all holding onto the table, Ace would have ruffled his hair affectionately. The two were very glad to hear how much fun Luffy had. They'd never played sports like that before.

Maybe, this was a place they could stay, was what all three brothers were thinking, almost hearing the smiles in their thoughts.

-x-

"Alright, Luffy. Are you sure you want to do this? Last chance to back out," Izo said, holding the tattoo removal gun in his hand Luffy leaned back on a nice chair, which was much too big for him. Izo was the tattoo artist, as he had the most steady hands.

"I want it gone," Luffy said in a strong voice. Izo told him to stay still. No one else was in the room so Izo didn't have the risk of being distracted. Luffy had a cover over his left eye, and Izo began the long process of removing the tribal tattoo that covered half of his face. It didn't hurt, and Luffy had his feet and hands inside bowls of water to weaken his fruit, even a tiny bit, so the removal was more effective.

Luffy stayed absolutely still, looking forwards to not having it on his face anymore. When Luffy was told what brands were and their significance, he knew that was what the tattoo was and wanted it gone even more. So here he was, getting the tattoo removed for good while his brothers waited outside.

It took over and hour before Izo stopped and told him they would continue with the next session. Luffy nodded, already having been told that it would take awhile to complete. But, with the boys knowing they were welcome to stay, even if they hadn't accepted or even been asked yet, they knew Luffy could get it removed while they were still there, no matter how long it took.

Luffy looked in the mirror to see it was faded just slightly. He was going to be patient though. There was no rush.

When he went outside, Ace and Sabo immediately checked if he was alright, and Luffy said he was fine. The water was gone and he felt better now. It was only when he was full submerged up to the neck that he fell asleep. "I'm okay. I can't wait for it to be gone, even if it's gonna take a long time."

He felt they should have accepted to stay before anyone asked, but the captain still hadn't asked. None of them were uneasy, as no one treated them as if they changed their minds and wanted the three gone. And, if they were no longer welcome, why would they approve of a long process or removing the tattoo?

They would wait for someone to ask, as they must have a reason to not ask yet. Hopefully it was a good one. It had been a week since the dodgeball game, and after that one, they played a plethora of different games. Luffy had the most fun with hide and seek. Devil fruits were allowed in this one, and Luffy's hiding place was stuck in the rafters of the galley, hiding and sticking in the shadow of one of the beams.

He was the last to be found, and crowned the most creative with his spot. It made him feel smart, and liked the feeling. Ace and Sabo had crawled into vents around the place, being little menaces as they made noises in each room to make the pirates hiding in them be found from the noises. But, no one but Luffy and Thatch knew about that. Thatch had gotten very excited, saying he always wanted partners in crime when Haruta wasn't around to help.

The brothers had bonded with other commanders and much of the crew during the games and talkative dinners. Even though Luffy was more comfortable, everyone knew that playing games and going to a counselor for a couple weeks was not long enough to heal his trauma, so they still gave him ample room when being around him. No more loud noises in his presence. The bedroom had been fixed as best as it could, but the boys couldn't live in it again yet, as more than just the walls had been broken. They had to repair the vents that had been in the ceiling and that would take awhile since they needed special metal to replace them that they just didn't have yet.

Luffy still had nightmares, but the baths before bed kept him from harming anybody. His powers had broken through during one nightmare, but Sabo only woke up to see the black substance had tried to reach the door leading to Marco's attached room, but had fizzled out and was unable to go very far, so it just laid limp on the floor of the room, not moving at all.

-x-

There had been a pirate raid on the ship, and the boys were given permission to go wild and practice their training. Ace was brutal, burning the enemy pirates so that they'd never be healed again, or had died. Sabo clubbed men in the heads and guts, going for the groins sometimes just to be mean.

Luffy didn't kill anyone. He incapaciated them, ruining their legs or arms and tossing them overboard. But he didn't kill anyone or give them wounds that would kill them on the spot. They might bleed to death, but that was because they didn't have emergency treatment. He didn't transform into full form, not wanting to scare the pirates on the crew, even though they knew what he looked like.

The youngest did transform into his partial form once someone used haki on his to punch him, knowing he had a devil fruit. It'd drawn blood on his face. It appeared, though, that haki only worked on his when he was not covered by the substance of his fruit. The haki punches or swords went right through him.

After the fight, Luffy cheered that he hadn't killed anyone. Ace and Sabo picked him up and threw him in the air, proud of him. As were the Whitebeards. Whiskey ate her own words after that, and the two older children had _still_ not forgiven her. Luffy stopped trying to get them to, knowing it was a lost cause by now. Tami was perfectly capable of taking care of them and doing regular check ups.

On the day that marked six weeks, the crew landed on an island that was not under their protection. It also had a marine base on it, but as far as the division specialized on gathering information said, it was no longer active. So, the pirates felt safe enough to bring the kids off of the ship. They wore Whitebeard marks on their clothes for safety.

Vista went with them this time, having grown quite fond of them over the weeks. They headed into the small town to get some candy for the kids. Some good candy that they had never tried. They found a sweets shop that was huge and full to the brim of different types of candy.

Luffy tried a sample of each flavor of ice cream. Ace and Sabo taste tested truffles before using the money they were given to buy whatever they wanted. By the end, they each had a big bag of candy, and their allowance was gone. Vista was clearly surprised that they'd spent all 5,000 berries on candy. It was a small chunk of money, but the boys were happy with it and felt rich.

"Thats a lot of candy," Vista commented. Luffy nodded and said he'd try and not eat all of it today. Vista chuckled. "If I ate that much sugar in one day, I might just lose my stomach." Luffy looked alarmed, and Sabo chuckled.

"He means he would throw up if he ate too much."

"Oh, okay."

When the four walked down the street to see the sights some more, even though they had no more money, Luffy saw someone in the corner of his eye that looked familiar, but couldn't place him. The guy with a bucket on his head hid around the corner again after being spotted. He wasn't the only one who noticed. Vista was watching that area like a hawk, face serious and suspicious. Ace and Sabo weren't stupid, they noticed the change in Vista.

"There is someone or someones following us," he announced. The boys stopped and looked where Vista was looking.

"What should we do?" Sabo wondered. He had the jitte strapped across his back. If Ace and Luffy had their powers everywhere they went, then Sabo wanted to be armed as well.

"They are not particularly strong. We can go see what they want if you'd like," the commander offered, knowing he could defend them and that they were strong enough to take on small fry. Besides Luffy. Vista had faith that Luffy would be able to fight any opponent that was not admiral or emperor status, being unaffected by weapons and haki.

"They better not take our candy," Luffy said when they turned around and started walking towards where Vista could tell they were. Once they reached the edge of the forest, following the presence of the suspicious man who was hiding from them, Vista stopped them.

Sabo looked skeptical as well. "This is a trap, isn't it? Trying to lure us into the forest." Vista nodded in agreement. "We will not go into the forest. It would be foolish to do so based on this behavior. As well as the many people I can tell are further in. We should go back to the ship."

"What? We're not gonna fight?" Ace asked in disappointment. Vista shook his head.

"We are not fools that would approach enemies that are trying to lure us away when we don't know their intentions. Why don't we take your candy back to the ship and gather some more people to check out those luring us?" Vista offered. The three boys agreed. The four were going to turn around when a few men came running out of the forest at them.

Vista was not taken by surprise, and slashed the nearest marine that approached them. The man bled out almost immediately. "G5 again? Didn't they learn their lesson last time?" Sabo asked after clobbering one of the men in the head, knocking him out or killing him. Ace burned another guy, making him scream and hold his blistering, bubbling arm.

Luffy barely moved from his spot, just absorbing marines' extremities that got too close and crushing them to bits. It was his new favorite move, not slashing with hardened blades. That was messy and easy to kill even if he wasn't meaning to. By crushing them, he both harmed them for good and made them unable to fight anymore.

Maybe killing them would be kinder, but Luffy wasn't wanting to kill again. Even if Sabo was going too hard, and killing them, Luffy didn't want to do so himself. He was still healing from his past version and did not want to risk slipping back into old habits.

"Look what you've done to these children!" the woman from the ship asked angrily, holding a sword in both hands, running out of the forest. Luffy had no reason to treat the woman any differently than any of the men, and almost absorbed her leg when she got too close to Vista, but Luffy was punched and knocked away before he could crush it like he had the others.

"Luffy!" Ace shouted in concern.

"Don't get close to that one, Tashigi," Smoker said, finally coming out of the shadows. Luffy grew angry, but not so much that he was going to do something he'd regret. Since Smoker could use haki, Luffy shifted into half form, not feeling the need to expose his monstrous appearance.

"Don't you hurt Luffy!" Sabo shouted, but wasn't stupid and didn't let his anger overpower him and run forward, like Ace did. Luffy ran after him and grabbed onto the back of his shirt yanking him backwards with his stick attached to his back. "Don't be reckless, Ace," Vista scolded. "This is a strong marine. He's not like the underlings."

Luffy walked forward, but didn't go any closer. Luffy reached out his hand like a lasso and flung it at Tashigi, the woman, pretending he was going to stick her. When Smoker went to defend her, as she refused to hurt the children, and his arm turned into smoke with a haki fist, aimed towards Luffy's gut, he let the fist go right through him and clamped down on it, the sensation of tensing his core, he utterly destroyed the vice-admiral's left arm, making him scream in pain.

Luffy made no noise, as it wasn't possible without a mouth. Vista looked impressed with Luffy's feint and strategy. Smoker fell to his knees in pain, holding his mangled arm. Tashigi looked horrified and ran to him.

"Should we kill them?" Sabo wondered. "They'll spread the word about Luffy's powers, and we don't want that, right? We don't want him to be a target." Vista thought for a moment.

"I will take care of it. I don't want you three to get involved with killing the vice admiral and whatever rank the woman is," the commander said. He went up to the two remaining marines, as everyone else was dead or incapaciated and helpless. "I don't know who you think you are to tell us to not take care of these children, since you work for the World Government, you aren't qualified to raise concern about how others are treated," Vista said coldly. "You should have stopped pursuing us after we kicked your asses the first time."

Luffy didn't look away when Vista offed both higher ranking marines with a haki covered sword. He went to each marine that were not dead yet and killed them, too. No one was left, G5 was gone. Or at least, this part of G5. There had to be more out there.

"I am sorry you boys had to see that," Vista apologized. They all walked around the bodies, some horribly disfigured by Luffy and Ace's powers.

"I've done and seen worse," Luffy said, though not without emotion in his voice. Ace wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

"You didn't kill anyone, Lu. You had very good self control," the freckled brother said with a smile. Sabo was looking at the blood on his jitte with disgust. "And the fake you did and then attacked was really skilled. I'm impressed."

Vista voiced his agreement, and Luffy smiled. They arrived at the ship, Luffy having a little blood on the side of him that was absorbing the marines to kill, with Sabo having a few drops as well. Vista's swords were bloody, and they attracted attention as they got on the ship, the boys all holding their sacks of candy.

Seeing the blood on the boys freaked many of the pirates out, including Haruta and the captain. "Sons, what happened?" Whitebeard asked, trying to sound calm but looking uneasy. Haruta ran over and started checking the boys for injuries. "We're not hurt, Haruta," Sabo assured.

"G5 followed us again. The boys got a chance to fight some marines. I had to kill them all after they saw Ace and Luffy's abilities. Luffy is a good strategist, I think he'll grow up to a very skilled fighter, as will Ace and Sabo. They didn't sustain a single injury."

"Have you left any evidence of who killed them?"

"Their bodies are in the forest, but no one saw us and we didn't walk back through the village with blood on ourselves. We should be safe. Though, if they do find out, I doubt anyone will retaliate. You know the marines, they don't care about one another at all," Vista explained. Someone from his division had gone and grabbed a towel for him to clean his swords with.

"That is true. Well, good job, boys," the captain said.

"And I didn't kill anyone, too. And we got candy," Luffy said, holding his sack up. The emperor laughed at the immediate change of subject the youngest made.


	24. Ups and Downs

**phoenix: yeah, it is an important event for multiple reason.**

**hendo2031: Thanks! I honestly didn't think it would be so surprising lol.**

**Selet: Everybody is their own age according to cannon besides the boys. So Tashigi is an adult while the brothers are the ages I gave them. Tashigi was in the fight against the Whitebeards more in the beginning, so she was older there, too. I should put in the first chapter an AN about their ages, thanks for bringing this up!**

* * *

**A lot of stuff happens in this chapter and the tone is all over the place. You'll see what I mean. And remember the text in bold are minor spoilers for the wano arc. Not much about the plot itself, but the flashback. And I started a new fanfiction, another fix-it but a lot different! Enjoy~**

* * *

After learning of the attack, a few commanders and their division members left the ship to clean up the evidence by burning the bodies. They were disgusted with the mangled bodies, and even had to pick them up to put in the bonfire. They would not risk anyone finding out about the boys.

The bodies totaled thirty men and one woman. They were a little put off that Vista killed a woman, but there was no other choice. Besides, this one was probably the one who had followed them because she was worried about the children. It didn't take too long, and soon only blood was in the clearing. Once it rained, the blood should wash away.

Marco and Kingdew were the supervising commanders, directing their division members to what to do. "Luffy didn't kill any of his attackers. Do you still think he'll kill one of us?" Marco asked in a flat voice.

"No, I don't," Kingdew answered. Marco smiled.

"Took you long enough."

Luffy did not follow through on what he told Vista, and had eaten all of is candy that day, but miraculously had not puked up all of the sugar. When Thatch watched Ace and Sabo decline sharing their own candies, the chef had chuckled, looking fondly at Luffy's pouting.

The next day, there was a NewsCoo brought to the ship, dropping multiple papers on the deck. Since whitebeard was too big to hold the papers, his sons read him the more important or interesting parts of that day's newspaper.

"Pops, it looks like someone had called in before dying during the fight between G5 and Vista and the boys," Marco said, reading the newspaper article about the missing bodies on the island. "Their ship was still there, so it was suspicious for them to be missing. It looks like Vista was the only one reported. There's only a small part that talked about him being in the company of children, but nothing about them fighting or their abilities."

"It is good you took care of the bodies, then," Whitebeard replied. Marco grinned, and pulled out the Wanted poster.

"Looks like we have another Wanted man on the crew," the phoenix said, holding up the Wanted poster. Despite having many strong commanders on the crew, few actually had bounties. Unless they did something to stand out, they were just part of large crew that was known to have powerful pirates.

"Gurarara! That's some good news! We shall have a party tonight!" It was a huge deal to get a Wanted poster, so of course they'd have a party.

News spread of the Wanted poster like crazy, and Vista was not the first to know. He learned only by the congratulations thrown his way throughout the ship. But, he was happy about it. Before the party was started that night, Luffy asked the pirates why being Wanted was a good thing. "I was always told to not get caught cause bounties were bad."

"Well, most people other than pirates think having a bounty is bad, but it shows that you are formidable to the marines and World Government. Sometimes they give out ridiculous bounties for stupid reasons, but we always celebrate when someone gets a Wanted poster," Marco explained. "Pops, I, Jozu and Teach all had Wanted posters."

"That's not very many for an emperor's crew," Sabo commented.

"It's hard for everyone to have a bounty when there are so many on the crew. **Pops has the second highest bounty in history. The first was the Pirate King, Gold Roger. He was a powerful man and highly known man in history, so he had the highest bounty. He was a respected pirate by other crews. We were friends with them, even if history calls us rivals. **

"**One of our own even left to join his crew on the quest to find the final island, Raftel,"** Marco explained. "And one of Roger's cabin boys is now an emperor himself."

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed. "How big is Whitebeard's bounty?" Luffy asked in awe.

"**Over five billion. **That's ten times as big as my current bounty. He is the strongest man in the world after all," Marco replied proudly. He was practically bragging about his father's strength. Ace took a drink of his juice, as they were all sitting at the commander's table.

"What's the difference between Kaido and Whitebeard? Namur said Kaido is the strongest creature alive, but Whitebeard is the strongest man. Aren't humans considered creatures, too?" Ace questioned. Luffy nodded, wondering that, too.

"It's just the world's way of saying both are immensely strong. Since Kaido has a zoan devi fruit, he's more considered an animal. Pops would probably have a hard time fighting him. Kaido's crew is called the Beast Pirates. He takes pride in being called a monster or creature."

"What's his fruit?" Sabo wondered.

"It's a mythical zoan, like mine. The dragon-dragon fruit," Marco replied. The boys looked amazed.

"A dragon?! That's crazy!" Sabo exclaimed. He'd read plenty of stories when he was younger about dragons, never thinking they were anything but fairy tales. Marco nodded. Responding that mythical zoans were rarer than logias.

"I've heard that someone found the kitsune-kitsune fruit not long ago, though I don't know who. When we went to Sky Island, there was a bird that ate the horse-horse fruit, and is now called a pegasus," Marco explained, enjoying the wonder on the childrens' faces. "But, your fruit is only as strong as the user. If I didn't know how to use my fruit correctly, I wouldn't be very strong. Luffy uses his fruit adeptly, but if he didn't, then all he would be was a form of slime."

Luffy beamed at the roundabout compliment. "It took a lot of training and practice, though."

"As do all skills. You don't learn haki by luck, you don't wield a sword well without practice, and you can't use a devil fruit without dedication and perseverance. That's the only good thing you got out of that place, was a way to train your devil fruit, no matter if it was, to some, amoral to kill people."

Ace and Sabo looked worried. "But, we killed people today. I think," Sabo said in a slow voice, finally realizing what a bad example they had set for Luffy, killing people right in front of him when he was still recovering from doing that before.

"Well, though it is party wrong to kill, sometimes you have no choice."

"Luffy made that choice," Ace grumbled. "He didn't kill anyone."

Marco nodded. "And that was impressive. But you have to remember, Luffy is able to do things other than kill. Both of you are new to your skills and don't have total control. It's easy to overdo it by accident. One hit to the head in the wrong place, and they're dead. One burn too much, and they're dead. Luffy is able to target certain body parts, and incapacitate his enemies without killing them. You two will just need a lot of practice to get to Luffy's level," the phoenix explained patiently. Luffy was smiling at the praise he was getting, proud of both his abilities and his self-control that day.

"Would you guys like to be part of the party tonight? There is gonna be a lot of alcohol out on deck. No one would blame you for not coming out," Marco said. Luffy looked apprehensive.

Sabo answered, Marco noticing him sharing a look with Ace after both noticed Luffy's nervousness about the subject. "No, we'll take a bath and then go to bed. Thank you for still letting us stay in your room," Sabo said sincerely.

"No problem. As soon as the vents are repaired and replaced, you three should be able to return to the previous bedroom." The boys were clearly happy about that. Everyone had faith Luffy was well enough to not lose control, plus the bath idea had been paying off wonderfully.

"Alright. Well, dinner will be early for you tonight since we usually eat out on deck during the parties. When it's any of your birthday, we'll throw a non-alcoholic birthday party for you," Marco replied. He grew sad when Luffy announced that he didn't know what his birthday was. "Why don't we make you one? If you don't know, then we can come up with it." Luffy nodded. "What is your favorite season?"

"I like spring, with flowers," Luffy replied immediately. When asked his favorite number, he said 142, and nobody knew where or why he came up with that number. Sabo laughed and informed him it would have to be numbers between 1 and 28. "Hmmm... 5!"

"May 5th it is. You still have many months before then, though. When are your birthdays?" Marco asked Ace and Sabo. When Ace replied his birthday was January 1st, Marco laughed loudly. "A non-alchol party on new years will be a first." They heard Thatch laughing in the kitchen. He was listening in, because _of course _he was. "Sabo, when is yours?"

"March 20th," Sabo replied. "Ace is older than me by two months, and Luffy by four years."

Suddenly, Ace brought up a completely different topic. "You know what's funny? Luffy has only gained family and friends by kidnapping them." Marco started laughing, and Luffy wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. Wasn't kidnapping bad? "Well, everyone is glad he kidnapped us, right? Though I don't think that the majority would be happy. We're just the weird ones," Ace added, making sure Luffy knew it wasn't a jab at him.

"I don't think you should kidnap anymore people, though. We're probably the only crew that would tolerate it without trying to kill you for it," Marco said with a light smile. Luffy nodded.

"I won't, I promise," he swore seriously.

Thatch came over with the boys' dinners, grilled shish kabobs with tons of meat for Luffy and vegetables and grilled pineapple. It looked delicious and Marco was looking forward to eating it during the party. The boys dug in enthusiastically, Ace and Sabo's candy bags forgotten.

Thatch sat back and watched with an amused grin while Luffy inched his hand closer to Sabo's bag of candy, while Marco grabbed his hand with a no-no look, making Luffy look shy. Sabo hadn't missed this and laughed.

"Such a bad influence, Thatch," Marco muttered after he was leaving to help bring the kegs out of the storage room and out onto deck, since the boys would be staying inside. The last thing Marco heard was "Am not!" from the chef. Marco sighed, but couldn't bring himself to get angry with Thatch. Who actually believed he'd be a wonderful influence anyway? This was the man that routinely dumped buckets of paint on people and it then was surprised when those he pranked got upset.

The kegs were in a line, many of the crew already taking them out while the sou chefs were setting up the massive grills. Thatch came out once the boys were done eating and hauled out the huge amount of meat and container of vegetables. Napkins were in a huge pile weighed down so the didn't blow away.

Already, people were drinking the booze happily. Whitebeard was not using the silly looking bottle since there was no risk of the boys coming out and Luffy possibly being burned if he dropped the bottle.

The party started in full when Thatch began grilling the thousands of shish kabobs along the massive grill from the storage room near the kitchen that they wheeled out. He put some wine on the meat that those requested.

Marco was sitting on Whitebeard's shoulder as they both watched their family laugh and drink and eventually pass out. "I found out when the boys' birthdays are. Luffy didn't know his, so we settled on May 5th, and Ace's birthday is New Years day. I promised their parties would be alcohol free."

"Ha! Good luck with that," Whitebeard laughed, Marco joining in. Marco was drinking from a mug while Pops was just guzzling from one of the sake bottles. "When is Sabo's?"

"March 20th," Marco answered. "The boys were very impressed with your bounty. I think they'll each get one some day if they stay pirates."

"Most likely. Luffy won't look as formidable without his tattoo anymore," the captain replied. "Though I am happy he's brave enough to do so to move on from his past. It's commendable, and he sets a good example to the others to move on from their troubling past." Marco nodded in agreement.

Then he saw someone knock over a mug of beer. "Julian! Make sure you clean that up thoroughly," Marco said loudly, voice cutting over the conversation he was in. When Julian said he'd do it in a little bit, Pops stepped in and told him he had to do it right now. The man from the sixteenth division didn't question the captain's order and went to the broom closet right right inside the hall and mopped it up without a complaint. He then went to the hose and washed the mop clean from the drink. "Thank you, son," the captain said with a smile. Julian went back to drinking after giving is father a smile.

"So, what do you think of about the boys' mention in the paper?" Marco asked quietly.

"I don't think it's a bad thing. Their appearances and ages were not mentioned. And besides, the world knew we had children with us before now. It is a pity Smoker died, as he was a fun opponent for many of us, but he isn't as important as our boys' safety. I was surprised when Vista told me about Luffy's move. For an eight year old, it was quite the strategy to come up with in a short time. I was under the impression he just slaughtered targets with no real effort put in," the captain commented.

"Well, maybe he learned from watching us? Or, we have had the wrong impression. I was not the one who came up with the word 'killing machine'. His captors did. So I just assumed and told you that he must have just offed everyone without rhyme or reason," Marco replied, taking a drink of his sake. When it was out, Whitebeard poured his another serving from one of the main bottles near his large chair.

After dinner was over, Thatch stumbled over to the chair, clearly smashed and having trouble standing upright. He was always amusing when drink, even if he didn't remember. He also got handsy with the men, usually prompting him to be hit and wake up with a bruise he had no idea where he got it.

"What is it, son?" Whitebeard asked, amused with Thatch's stumbling to the side a bit.

"Wh-when yoo gunna ass kids t-to shoin?" he slurred.

"Soon, son. Don't worry about it. Go back to your drinking." Thatch grinned and stumbled back to the nearest drinking circle and downed another large mug that didn't belong to him, resulting in a drunken fight, which ended with both of them hugging.

"How soon, Pops?" Marco asked. He wanted them to ask already. He was sure they'd say yes. "Luffy's injury is healed, and he's doing better with us on the trauma," the first mate pointed out.

"I'm aware. And I know things with Whiskey won't get better for Ace or Sabo for probably quite some time. Luffy may have been the bigger person and forgiven her, but I would be hard to give forgiveness to someone who called any of my sons an incurable psychopath, no matter that one _was." _

Marco frowned. "Yeah, I don't see them making any improvement on that front unless Whiskey does something significant for Luffy again. But, by her being head nurse, I hope nothing happens." Marco sighed. "I just think it's about time we ask. Thatch keeps bringing it up, even if he doesn't notice it at the time. It's no longer a surprise and they must have an answer by now."

"I will ask within the week. I want to find the right time to do so. We don't need a commanders' meeting about this, because regardless of anyone who wishes to not invite them, it is my choice and there would have to be something major for me to change my mind. Besides, I don't think a riot would be prevented if I change my mind, lead by Thatch and Haruta," the captain said, though there was amusement in his voice. His sons could be a handful, but he loved them regardless.

Marco smiled, looking forward to bringing them in permanently. "Pops, I want to thank you for going along with my wish to save them. I know it must have been hard to forgive someone who kidnapped me, and to let them aboard, but thank you very much." Whitebeard waved his other hand.

"There is no reason to thank me. The moment you asked me to do so, I knew they weren't bad kids. You have a good judge of character and I trust that. Even though we have both made mistakes, you were much younger when we accepted Teach, so I don't hold that against you. That was almost thirty years ago," the captain said. "Besides, the brats grew on me quickly, and it makes me feel very proud that my family has helped them so much."

"I can drink to that," Marco said and raised his mug, downing the whole thing in one gulp. Whitebeard laughed and toasted his bottle, downing that just as quickly as Marco had his.

-x-

The next morning, Luffy was incredibly embarrassed. He'd woken up to noticed he'd peed the bed, something he hadn't done for as long as he could remember. Peed on the bed that his brothers were also sleeping on. He tried to hide it from them, but his moving around and bright red face with pink eyes woke them alerted them that something had happened.

They didn't have to ask before they saw the wet spot on the bed. "Did you wet the bed?" Ace asked, though not in a disgusted or teasing way. Luffy buried his head in his hands. "It's probably because you couldn't get up from the bath draining you. I don't remember you ever wetting the bed before, not even during nightmares. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Don't tell anyone else," Luffy said hurriedly.

Sabo ruffled his hair softly. "Why don't we wash off and then change clothes? We can take the sheets to the laundry room and pretend they are just smelly from us sleeping on them."

"They'll smell like pee," Luffy argued back. Ace stood up without a word and left the room, finding Marco sleeping. Usually, he got up before them. Ace found a mug of coffee, old coffee, on the desk and picked it up, walking back into the room and pouring the coffee over the stain.

"Ace!" Sabo scolded in a hush. "Now it's super noticeable!"

"Well, I sleep walked and found a mug of coffee, thought it was hot chocolate, and brought it back to the bed," he said back in a neutral tone. Luffy nodded, glad the pee and the smell was covered up. "Besides, sheets go over the mattress, they'll hide the stain. And this is a spare mattress anyways."

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Luffy said, face still bright red.

"C'mon, let's go take a shower before Marco wakes up," Sabo said, and the boys took off their clothes besides their boxers and left them in the room in a pile before hurrying to the bathroom and shutting the door, making sure Marco was still asleep. He was.

"I'm embarrassed," Luffy said as he stood in the shower while Ace and Sabo shared the bathtub.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, it wasn't your fault. And it's never happened before. Did you have a nightmare?" Sabo asked kindly, loud enough that he could be heard over the running water of the shower Luffy was in.

"No."

"Then it was probably because you couldn't move. It's earlier than we usually wake up, so you were still lethargic," Sabo reasoned, Ace nodding though Luffy couldn't see him. Neither were grossed out that they had been sleeping in a puddle of pee. They'd been in much more disgusting situations before Luffy found them.

"O-okay," Luffy amended. After the shower and bath, the boys were no longer covered in pee and hurried back to their little den in towels to change into new underwear and clothes. They didn't want Marco to ask questions, so they gathered up the sheets and clothes. "Hey, maybe they won't even know who did it," Ace muttered.

They snuck past Marco's bed, thinking he must be very drunk to not notice them moving with haki, and the three crept down the halls, looking around corners and making sure no one was there to witness their suspicious behavior.

They made it to the laundry room, which was a huge room with stacks of clothes. Thousands of outfits went through the wash every week, theirs smelling like pee wouldn't be that big of a deal. Though they were now regretting spilling the coffee. It was obvious. They could have buried the sheets and no one would have known. Though, there would probably be a yellow stain, so maybe the coffee stain _was _good.

When they walked back, heading the library to wait until breakfast, Ace slammed his arm into Luffy's chest suddenly. Luffy stumbled back in surprise, not pain. "Ace, what the heck?" Sabo demanded, but then they all noticed the puddle on the floor. Ace crouched down and stick his finger in it, sniffing it. He sighed. It was water, no scent.

"Sorry, Lu. I was afraid it was alcohol, and we're all barefoot. Maybe we should go put on our shoes," Ace explained. Luffy forgave him instantly, smiling that Ace thought about his safety like that. Sabo was ashamed that he hadn't noticed, and could have possibly let Luffy burn his foot.

When they walked back into Marco's bedroom, he was awake, sitting up in bed and looking exhausted. "Where'd you three go?" he asked curiously, no accusation in his voice. Luffy hid his discomfort as Ace said the lie. He sleepwalked in the middle of the night and found the coffee, thinking it was hot chocolate, and spilling it on the sheets.

They thought Marco knew they were lying, but if he did, he passed it off and didn't mention it again. "Did you bring everything to the laundry room?" The boys nodded. Marco looked at the clock. "It sure is early for you three to be awake. Did Luffy have a nightmare?" the man asked in concern.

"No, we woke up from the spilled coffee," Sabo replied smoothly. Marco nodded. "Beware everyone will not be feeling so good today. They drunk themselves under the table of the party last night." Ace and Sabo nodded, still wondering why the pirates would put themselves at risk by all getting drunk together.

That day, there were no games to play and most of the crew were feeling ill. The bathrooms were packed with retching pirates. Ace and Sabo chuckled at it while Luffy was just grossed out. He'd never been around drunk people before, not this drunk, but Ace and Sabo had. They'd been around their fair share of bars when they were younger, though they weren't the drinkers. Mostly saw the people throwing up outside in the flower gardens or bushes.

Ace clapped Luffy on the back. "If we stay here, I have a feeling we'll be around drunken pirates or ones with hangovers. As long as they don't bring the alcohol around you, then it's fine. Right?" Luffy nodded. "You aren't used to it, we are. It'll be fine." The youngest nodded again.

They went out on deck after breakfast, which was not cooked by Thatch, who had a bad headache and had stayed in his room. It was a nice day out, and Namur was at the helm, steering the ship to the side where the boys saw a storm.

Whitebeard was in his chair, watching his children stumble around in amusement, though he did feel pity for those who were stopping to vomit over the side of the ship. Whenever the bathrooms were packed, the second choice was over the side of the ship. Well, the only other choice.

"Boys!" Whitebeard called, and the children came over. "I hope our partying didn't disturb your sleep last night," he said, clearly not hungover in the least.

"No, we fell asleep easily," Sabo replied, adjusting the jitte on his back. It was in a scabbard wrapped around his chest. He was too small to have it at his belt like some of the pirates did. Whitebeard had his bisento propped up against his chair, and the boys had never seen him use it. Sabo looked at it curiously.

"What is it?" Whitebeard asked, wondering why the blonde was so fixated on his weathered weapon.

Sabo was startled out of is thoughts, noticing his brothers and the captain watching him curiously. "I was just wondering why you need a weapon like that? You have a devil fruit, and none of the other devil fruit users on the ship use weapons," Sabo replied. Whitebeard glanced at his weapon, which he'd had since he first became a pirate over fifty years ago.

"Marco and Jozu's powers are mostly physical and they are trained in hand to hand combat. My fruit is so destructive that I can't always use it without causing harm to my sons of protected islands, so I use my bisento if I ever need to fight and cannot risk anything by using my fruit," the captain explained, not minding the question at all. "Luffy and Ace will probably not use weapons, since both of their fruits don't involve weapons.

"I know of eight other logia devil fruit users, minus Smoker as he is now gone. And only one of those logias used weapons. There are surely more out there that I don't know of. But you can see why it's very rare to have two brothers who both have logia fruits.

"So, in short, I use my bisento mostly when I don't use my devil fruit," he finished with a grin.

"Hey, hey, what do you think the strongest devil fruit is?" Luffy wondered. Ace and Sabo looked interested as well, and the three sat down in front of the man in his throne to listen.

"Well, power wise, most likely my fruit. Not to be conceited, but if I wished, I could destroy the world with my fruit. Of course, that would kill myself and my family, so I would never do that. If Luffy honed his fruit and the fruit's usual abilities, he could probably have his fruit up there with the strongest. But remember, your fruit is only as powerful as you use it."

He talked about many fruits that he knew of, and when they boys were still interested, he recommended checking out the devil fruit encyclopedia. When he told them where it was, all three went running off to get it.

"Did you guys hear that? He said my fruit was really powerful!" Luffy bragged while they searched the library for the encyclopedia. Sabo was the only one who would read fluently, so he read the other two about the fruits. Some were silly, some were scary, and some sounded quite useless.

"I'm glad my fruit wasn't shitty like some in that book," Ace said as he sat on the carpeted floor of the are of the library they were hanging out in. Luffy was drawing while they talked and Sabo read to them. He hadn't drawn in a coloring book in awhile, since they were all shredded when he lost control in his sleep, and he hadn't asked for more.

"Can you imagine how disappointed you would be to turn into a jacket?" Sabo commented. Then Ace grinned.

"You know, I always thought Marco's fruit was really cool. He can fly, heal wounds, is really powerful, but I gotta laugh at the lame name. 'Tweet-tweet' fruit. Like some baby bird, not a powerful pirate," Ace laughed, Luffy chuckling, too.

There was rambunctious laughter coming from a few bookshelves over. Thatch peeked out form the corner, grinning at the boys. "You know, we're going to get along fabulously once you join," Thatch said with a massive grin. He looked a little sweaty, but the worst of the hangover had clearly passed.

"Hey, no listening in on our conversations!" Ace shouted.

"Maybe don't be so loud. This is a library, you know," they heard Izo say in a know-it-all voice. The boys flushed, having thought they were the only ones in the library at the time. Thatch hurried over and plopped down in front of Luffy, who put his hands over his drawing.

"No looking!" Luffy said, and Thatch made to look away and back at Sabo. "You know what fruit I think is the coolest? The press-press. He can control gravity! Too bad it's in the hands of a marine. The stupidest fruit, in my humble opinion, has to be the jacket-jacket fruit. Why would you want to become a jacket that someone else wears? How lame. Though the name isn't as lame as tweet-tweet fruit! Ahahaha!" Thatch erupted into laughter.

"Don't tell him I said that! I wasn't meaning to be mean," Ace said, worried Marco would be upset with him. "Besides, we were talking in private!"

Izo walked over, carrying a book in his arm. "Don't worry, Ace. Marco wouldn't get mad at you, he'd be mad at Thatch, since he can't tell Marco what he heard without admitting he was invading someone else's privacy. And you see, we take privacy very seriously here, don't we Thatch?" Izo said in a sickly sweet voice. The boys watched as the blood drained out of Thatch's face. He then looked like a kicked puppy.

"I'm sorry, I won't say anything about you saying it," Thatch swore.

"But, Luffy, guess what?" Izo asked, turning to the youngest, who had stacked books up as a wall so no one looked at his drawing. Luffy looked up with a questioning face. "You didn't have a panic attack from a loud noise. Which Thatch could have caused. It's great improvement."

Thatch looked horrified, knowing he could have caused Luffy a panic attack or episode. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think," Thatch said with a truly sincere face on.

"You'll find Thatch does _a lot _of things without thinking," Izo commented, swatting Thatch's head with the book. The boys secretly wondered why he was made a commander if he was so childish, but they wouldn't voice it because it would hurt his feelings, and they didn't want to do that. Thatch was annoying sometimes, but he was also one of their favorites on the crew.

After the two commanders left, leaving the library completely, Luffy went back to his drawing, no longer worried someone would look. Ace and Sabo knew by then that Luffy hated people looking at his drawings unless he finished and thought they were okay to show anyone.

Ace was in less than a good mood, still angry they'd been eavesdropped on. "Ace, calm down. Don't stay angry," Sabo said. Ace huffed, crossing his arms. The cheery mood had been ruined. Thatch didn't mean to, but he had.

-x-

Marco was asked to go find the boys from the captain after lunch, which no one had seen them go to. Pops thought they were in a great mood after the talk, but when he entered the library, the boys were all quiet, doing their own things. Luffy drawing, Sabo reading, and Ace trying to copy words out of a book and write them down.

Whitebeard had said they were in a great mood, but they seemed less than cheery now. Marco wanted to know what had happened. He stood in front of the boys, and only Sabo looked up. "Hey, Marco," he said, though his voice was a little tight. Marco could tell Ace was visibly angry. Luffy looked at Ace in worry.

"Hey. What happened? Pops said you were in a great mood and then you didn't show up for lunch," Marco said in a concerned voice. He was surprised when Ace said, "Mind your own business."

"Ace!" both Sabo and Luffy scolded. Ace looked surprised at both of them reprimanding him. "Marco is being nice, he's not intruding on our privacy," Sabo stressed, frowning at his brother, whose face grew red in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Marco," Ace apologized. "I'm just mad cause someone was eavesdropping on us. And we've always been under surveillance at the old place. We just got used to having privacy and then some people were listening in." Marco frowned deeply, wondering who it was. Whitebeard was very strict about privacy, since it was hard to come by on a ship with over 1500 people.

The first mate sat down on the carpet next to Luffy, noticing he hid his picture and did not look again. "Who was it?" The boys were reluctant to answer.

Luffy asked, "Will they get in trouble?" Marco didn't know anyone else but Thatch who would eavesdrop and who the kids would be worried would be in trouble. Marco replied honestly.

"Well, probably. He'll have cleaning duty or lose drinking privileges if necessary," he said. The boys shared another look.

"Thatch and maybe Izo. We were talking about stuff and he just came over and was listening and just butted into our conversation," Sabo said truthfully. Marco frowned deeply, irritated with his brothers. Whitebeard was going to possibly ask the boys to join that day, and now they were in a crabby mood. Great.

"I will talk to them and make sure they don't do that again. I'll be honest, it will be hard to find true privacy unless you are in an isolated area. I'll make it clear to everyone that privacy is extremely important to you three. We didn't realize you were filmed at the old place, but we should have assumed. I'll make sure everyone knows," Marco said emphatically, and the three believed him.

Marco knew he couldn't bring them to Pops to ask after one of their own commanders made a breech of trust. Marco cursed in his head. He would go tell the captain today wasn't a great day to ask.

When the boys nodded, but Ace was still in a sour mood, Marco asked them to follow him. Luffy rolled up his paper and stuffed it in his pocket, Sabo closing the devil fruit book and leaving it on the end table by the couch he was sitting on. Ace just crumpled up his paper and tossed it in the wastepaper basket by the door.

The three didn't know where Marco was leading them until they entered his office. He lead them to the corner of the room and they saw a closet door. Marco used to hide in there to be alone when he still had the trauma when they first bought this ship, and Whitebeard had this room specifically designed for his comfort.

"When the ship was built, Pops had this room included. It was for me after I had panic attacks. There's a couch and a fluffy carpet. It's not the best place, is a little cramped, but if you guys ever want true privacy, you're welcome to come in here whenever you want." The boys walked into the room, which was a little dusty, and sat on the couch. It was very plush and comfortable. "That's probably the softed couch in the Moby. No one comes in here anymore, but you're allowed. And I'm very sorry about the breach of trust."

"Don't get super mad at them," Luffy said. The other two didn't say anything, but Ace was clearly not angry anymore, and Sabo was smiling softly.

"They will be punished just like anyone else on the ship. No one is above our law, including the commanders. If they do something wrong, then they will face the consequences. I hope this room atones for their mistake," Marco replied honestly.

Luffy nodded, and Ace and Sabo laid back on the comfy couch, smiling softly. "Honestly you're my favorite," Ace said with a grin. "Even if the name of your devil fruit is pretty lame." Marco looked surprised and then chuckled.

"I agree. 'Tweet-tweet' doesn't sound very formidable. If you guys are hungry, there are left overs from lunch in the fridge. Make sure you come for dinner, though. We don't want you hungry in the middle of the night." Marco closed the door partly and then shut the office door completely, giving them total privacy.

He grumbled at Thatch, _stupid _Thatch, for possibly ruining the day that Pops was gonna ask them to join! He stormed through the ship, and to Pops' chair to tell him that he wouldn't be seeing the brothers today.

"I couldn't bring the kids to talk to you, I'm sorry," Marco began. Whitebeard noticed his anger, and his expression grew serious. "A certain nosy someone has upset the boys, particularly, Ace. Apparently, they were in the library talking and Thatch and possibly Izo were listening and then butt into their conversation. And if that's true, and Thatch spoke suddenly, Luffy could have had a panic attack."

Whitebeard grew angry as well, angry that one of the commanders had broken a rule, and especially to their guests, who weren't crew members yet. "Luffy doesn't want them to get punished too hard," Marco added. "I've salvaged the situation, but I don't think you should ask them to join today. I've given them permission to use my Special Room."

Whitebeard looked at his son with soft eyes, losing the anger. He knew that place was sacred to him, and to share it with the boys showed a lot of trust and kindness. He was proud of this son, while he was irate with another. "Find them and bring them here," Whitebeard said, though Marco knew what he felt over the Special Room based on the look he'd given him.

The phoenix found Thatch and Izo arguing in the laundry room. Marco opened the door and gave them both a cold stare. "Pops wants to talk to you both." Thatch looked frightened while Izo smacked him in the head.

"Now look what you've done! I'm roped into your mess, too!" the sixteenth division commander shouted. Thatch looked like a kicked puppy. Marco followed them both as they headed out on deck to their disappointed father. It was the worst feeling, to be disappointed in. Thatch's head was down and Izo was glaring daggers at him.

"I've heard that you both broke one of our biggest rules," Whitebeard said immediately, sugarcoating nothing. "Privacy is important and you both know it. And I'll have you know, I was about to ask them to join our family because they were in such a good mood. And now I can't today because you've upset them.

"Marco has only salvaged the situation by letting them use his Special Room. You will both be assigned laundry duty along with your ccommander's duties for the next week. As well as not being allowed any alcohol. Thatch, for two weeks and Izo, for one," the man finished. "You need to be more thoughtful with them. Do you think they ever got any privacy where they were living before here?"

Thatch looked close to tears while Izo just looked ashamed. "No…" Thatch said. It was clear Whitebeard's words about being unable to ask them to join today were harsher than anything else he'd said or the punishments he'd given them.

"You're dismissed." The two commanders left Whitebeard and Marco, heads down and heading back to the laundry room. Whitebeard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I do not think this will seriously affect their answer to join or not, but I don't want them to be asked while angry." Marco nodded in agreement. "I will make it clear to the commanders and they will make it clear to their divisions that privacy is still one of our most important rules."

"I will let my division know."

"I love all my sons, but they can be idiots, adults or otherwise," Whitebeard said, looking up at the sky. Marco felt he needed to raise the mood a bit for his father, since he'd been looking forward to asking the boys and now he couldn't that day.

"Ace told me I was his favorite, and then insulted me," Marco said. Whitebeard burst into laughter. Marco chuckled, too. "He said the name of my devil fruit is lame. I had to agree." He paused and then looked up at the clear sky. Marco left the captain to look for Namur, needing to ask his something.

He found him in the navigation room, which he was head of. His division were all schooled in meteorology and everything about the New World's abnormal weather compared the rest of the planet.

"What do you need, Marco?" Namur asked.

"Do you have any spare sheets of paper, or any pens you don't need?" he asked. When Namur gave him a questioning look, he added, "Luffy likes to draw and all of his coloring books were destroyed in their old room."

Namur hurried to the cabinets that held parchment and found some cheap paper and a few colored pens that they stopped using due to the colors clashing. He also brought back some old cartography maps that Luffy might use as substitute coloring books. It was doing that which Marco really remembered that Luffy was eight years old. He was a child, the youngest they'd ever had on the ship **besides the baby that wasn't there long.**

Luffy was a child, and kids like toys, things to play with, draw with. Even if Luffy could read, it wouldn't be fluently at his age. Marco suddenly felt bad, like they'd been ignoring Luffy's age. They bought him candy and played outside most days, but they weren't taking his age seriously. Marco also felt guilty about not replacing the toys once they stopped at an island with toy shops. Shame pooled in the pit of his stomach.

The next island they were stopping at, the boys would get to buy some toys or stuffed animals. Anything they wanted. He gave them some privacy before going back to their new private place and found them all sleeping on the couch. They had woken up early after all.

Marco knew they had lied about what happened with the sheets, and assumed one of them had accidentally wet the bed and was hiding it. So far, Ace had never sleepwalked. He understood why they would want to hide it, it was embarrassing to most, but Marco wished they would have told him. He respected that they hadn't and understood why. The first mate just wished they didn't feel ashamed about it. Whichever one did it, which Marco assumed was Luffy.

Marco left the pile of paper and maps, pens and new pencil resting on top. When they woke up, they'd see the presents and hopefully Luffy would be happy about it. He wanted them to feel like they were home. A good home, not the one Luffy had called home for his whole life. That damn _facility_ that made Luffy think that he was home.

Seeing Luffy sleeping with his brothers brought back that man's sour words when he was locked up. "Luffy doesn't know how to love". Then what had Luffy been doing doing since he got there? He overflowed with love and adoration for his brothers. Marco didn't understand how anyone could see Luffy and his brothers and not know they loved one another.


	25. Marine Attack

**RIAEVANS: Thank you!**

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**Why... why do I torture myself? Why did I not finish editing a story with 70,000 words before creating another one that is 146,000 words, and then go to another one that is so far 90,000 words? Why do I torture myself? That's almost 600 pages to edit. Those two new stories won't be coming out in awhile. sigh... Anyways, enjoy the chapter. Sigh again...**

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When Luffy woke up first, he gasped and jumped off the couch, seeing all of the colored pens and paper, along with big maps that he could color in the lines. "Look! Ace, Sabo, look!" Luffy shouted, startling them awake.

"What's that stuff?" Sabo asked with a yawn. None of them had meant to sleep, but they'd woken up pretty early that day.

"Coloring and drawing stuff," Luffy said as he looked at all of the different shaped maps. "Like my coloring books that got ruined," he added.

"I bet Marco brought them," Ace said, smiling at how excited Luffy looked. Everything was going normally until the ship tilted and the boys were thrown off the couch and floor and into the wall. The door shut and suddenly the room felt terribly claustrophobic. There were no windows inside, and all of the boys shouted and went to open the door and get out. Luffy started breathing quickly at the scary shock.

There was a porthole in Maro's office, furniture bolted down and cupboards locked so things didn't spill out, and they saw they were in a storm. "Back in the room!" Sabo shouted. "We won't fall down the hallway or ruin Marco's office," Sabo said, closing the door and keeping them in the room. Luffy shifted into full form and stuck to the wall, sucking Ace and Sabo up into him enough that they were stuck, but not suffocating or in pain.

It made them a little sick, but they stuck to the wall just fine. It only lasted a couple minutes before the ship was righted, though they stayed in that place for a good two minutes before trusting it was over, Luffy letting them down and turning back into human form. Sabo had a bruise forming on his arm, but it was nothing too serious.

They hurried out of the room and into the hall, seeing pirates cursing wounds from hitting into the walls. It looked like no one was prepared for the storm, not just the boys. Luckily, Luffy's new drawing supplies survived, though the pens were in all different corners of the room.

The three went out on deck and passed people heading to the infirmary. It was thanks to Luffy that they didn't sustain injuries worse than a couple bruises. Ace should have been fine, but Sabo could have gotten very hurt. The deck was soaked in water and the storm was behind them. The three must have looked disheveled because Marco hurried over to them and asked if they were okay.

"Luffy stuck us to the wall, so we're okay," Sabo assured. "That storm came out of nowhere." Marco nodded.

"We haven't had a surprise storm that intense and fast in months, guess we've been lucky," the phoenix replied.

"Thank you for the drawing stuff," Luffy said with a bright smile, knowing it was Marco who brought them. It was his special room after all, that he was sharing with them so kindly. The pirates were lowering the sails again, all soaking wet from the previous rain and waves crashing over the deck and onto the pirates.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry we haven't brought you all toys sooner. You're kids after all," Marco said, sounding truly sad and ashamed. Luffy looked down. Ace and Sabo didn't really want toys, Sabo wanted books and Ace just wanted to learn to read already. Sabo was doing his best to teach him when they had a lot of down time and Ace was practicing like crazy with writing.

Luffy shook his head. "It was my fault for ruining all the ones we brought with us," he said sadly. Whitebeard was there, listening to them speak while drying off his chair with a massive towel. He was quick to interject.

"You did not do that on purpose, therefore, it is not your fault your toys were broken," the giant captain said in a strong voice. "I don't want you to blame yourself for something unintentional and that you would never do on purpose." Luffy nodded, though he still felt ashamed. He'd had some of the toys for as long as he could remember. "The next island we stop at, we're going shopping for toys and coloring books."

The boys nodded, Luffy looking excited for it. Whitebeard spoke again, taking the boys attention while he was now sitting on his dry chair again. "Thatch and Izo have been reprimanded and punished for not giving you privacy. Everyone will be reminded of our rule of privacy. I'm sorry that happened, since you were all in such a good mood beforehand," the captain said sincerely.

Luffy shook his head, worried about what kind of punishment Thatch and Izo got. He was upset about them listening in, but didn't want them in trouble about it. "What was their punishment?" Luffy asked in worry.

"Don't worry, Luffy, it was nothing major. Laundry duty and a restriction on alcohol, which is most certainly not a bad thing to most," Whitebeard explained honestly.

"I think the reprimand from Pops was the worst part for them. No one wants him disappointed in them," Marco added. The boys nodded, glad Thatch wasn't punished too harshly. And maybe he would be happier not having a hangover in the early morning and could get up to cook like usual.

That night, the boys made sure to go to dinner, hungry from missing lunch and not having gone to get snacks. They spent much of the day in the Special Room, Sabo working to teach his brothers to read and write.

Thatch looked bummed all dinner, looking guiltily at the boys and the captain. Izo looked down as well, but Thatch was the most noticeable. When Jozu asked what had happened, Whitebeard made it clear that they wouldn't talk about it, as punishment had already been dealt. That just made everyone more curious, and Luffy felt bad.

"We shouldn't'a told anyone," the boy muttered between sips of juice.

Ace sighed. "They had to get in trouble for it, right? So they won't do it again?" he offered, being gentle with Luffy, who felt guilty for getting his friend in trouble.

"But they already knew they did something bad before Marco knew," the youngest pointed out.

"That may be true, but we had to say something anyway or Ace would have stayed mad, and if we hadn't said anything, Marco wouldn't have let us use his Special Room, right?" Sabo replied. Luffy got his point and nodded in agreement. It was true, they got something good from that negative experience. Marco really cared about them being comfortable here. The boys wondered why he came to talk to them in the first place.

After dinner was over and the galley and kitchen clean, Thatch found the boys in the library again, Sabo reading books to his brothers that weren't allowed to leave the room. He walked up to them looking thoroughly ashamed.

"I want to apologize to you guys for listening in. I'm not going to make any excuses, it was wrong and a violation of privacy. And I'm not mad about you telling Marco about it. I deserved to be punished for breaking one of our biggest rules. I'm a commander, I should set a better example, and I will from now on. No more listening in on conversations. Besides pranking the commanders, but I won't eavesdrop on you again," the cook since sincerely, regret written all over his face.

"We forgive you," Sabo said. "Besides, we got a nice new hiding place from you upsetting us." Thatch looked curious, but closed his mouth to not ask.

"That's good. At least something good came from me being a nosy jerk," Thatch replied with a smile, small though it may be. The boys nodded, and Luffy went back to coloring his maps. They didn't look anything like maps by the time they were all colored, more like abstract drawings, but he liked them, so that was all that mattered.

-x-

Luffy sat in the chair in the tattoo room with Izo, patch over his eye as Izo worked more on removing the face tattoo. It was fading, but not quickly. It would take many sessions, after all. Izo stressed that a lot at the first one.

"You know, once you're older, you can get another tattoo somewhere. Getting a tattoo of your choice is always a nice feeling. It sends a message anyone could see on your own body," Izo said as he carefully moved the laser over Luffy's tattooed skin. He was good at staying perfectly still.

"Do you have one?" the boy asked curiously.

Izo replied, "I do. It's a tree on by back, the kind from the land I grew up in. it reaches up my spine. One of the bigger ones on the crew. Marco has one as well. It's a blue bird flying from an open cage. It's small, on his shoulder blade. We all have the Whitebeard jolly roger, one of the two designs, somewhere on our body. Marco's it on his chest, which is why he wears an open shirt most of the time. We take pride in those tattoos," he explained.

Luffy thought for a minute, trying to think of an idea for his own tattoo if he ever got one. Izo said when he was older, so probably most kids didn't get tattoos at his age. Well, he had a long time to wait. "I don't know what I would want."

"Well, you have a long time to decide," Izo replied. He tiptoed around the next question from the boy.

"If we stayed, would we have to get a Whitebeard tattoo?" he asked. Izo thought for a moment before answering.

"Only if you'd choose to. Some wear the jolly roger on their clothes, those who don't want tattoos. Of course, if you joined, we wouldn't make you boys get tattoos as children. I refuse to tattoo children under the age of fifteen. Pops agrees with me on that one, too. We don't want kids getting a tattoo they'd regret getting some day. After all, it takes a long time and usually a lot of money to have a tattoo removed.

"You're getting yours for free, so you're lucky," Izo finished with a wink. Luffy smiled, and said he couldn't wait for the tattoo to be gone.

Izo chuckled. "You'll be very cute once the tattoo is gone." Luffy replied with "cute is better than creepy".

"That is very true," Izo replied. Luffy then asked another question about what happens after joining the crew. His brothers weren't in the room, which was why he was comfortable asking Izo the questions. He knew Ace and Sabo were undecided. Luffy wanted to stay, letting go all the mistakes made by some of the crewmembers. But, if his brothers wouldn't stay, there was no way he was going to be separated with them. They were family, no matter what, and they wouldn't break apart.

"If we joined, would we have to call Whitebeard 'Pops'?" he asked curiously.

Izo shook his head, reaching the bottom of the tattoo and carefully tracing the tip of it, which was skinny and sharp. "You could choose to call him whatever you're comfortable with. We call him Pops because he calls us his sons. You could continue to call his Whitebeard, or captain, or banana mustache, whatever you'd like. There, this session is over," Izo said, putting the tool down and taking his gloves off.

"Thanks, Izo," Luffy said with a smile, and hurried out of the room to see his brothers. They were both sitting on either side of the door.

Sabo looked up at him and asked, "All done?" Luffy nodded, and both boys stood up, Ace yawning. He'd not gotten much sleep last night. It was the first night in weeks that Luffy did not take a bath before bed. It was still in the small side room, and Ace stayed up most of the night to make sure Luffy had no bad dreams. He didn't, and the night was peaceful.

"Ace, if you're that tired, you can take a nap, you know," Sabo said.

Suddenly, the door across the hall slammed open and Thatch went running out, Jozu chasing him angrily. Sabo and Ace looked to Luffy to see him looking frightened. It had been a loud sudden noise.

"It's okay, Lu. It was just Thatch probably failing at a prank," Ace assured. Luffy closed his eyes and counted to ten, getting better at managing the panic attacks or just being startled much quicker than he used to. It was times like these that reminded them all that Luffy was not all better yet. His panic attacks were mostly gone, but he still was afraid and startled by loud, sudden noises.

Sabo rubbed his back, and the boys went outside to start their daily training sessions. Sabo was fighting Vista with his jitte, Ace training his self-control with Marco, and Luffy trying to be faster in his half form, the completely black human form. He was trying to climb up the mast. He could do so in monster form, but this one was difficult. Namur was standing under him to catch him when he fell, which he did a lot.

It was harder to do this in his half form due to the substance being less sticky. Marco had told him that his monster form was too big to be stealthy, no matter the dark color. So, he was training to be sneaky and a fly on the wall. The phoenix had told him he should be trained in many different ways, and may someday need to be sneaky. So, now was good practice.

Sabo was below them, hitting vista's swords as hard as he could, and blocking when necessary. It was harder for him to learn than it was for Luffy and Ace. After all, the jitte was heavy and Sabo had to get used to fighting with something longer than his own arm. But, he was improving well.

Whitebeard watched the whole time, a smile on his face. Luffy lost the stick and started to fall before shooting his arms out and attaching stick to the mast, keeping him from falling. He was barefoot as well, so his feet were helping him climb.

"Nice, Luffy!" Haruta called, coming out of the ship to watch the boys train. Luffy was unable to smile or reply or unstick from the wall, so he hoped Haruta didn't think he was ignoring the compliment. He snapped back to the wood, hands stuck to the mast again, and resumed climbing slowly and carefully.

Ace worked on making his body tangible and intangible with Marco. Marco would hit him or go after him as he sat, and Ace was to make sure the phoenix would go through him instead of inuring him. Then, he would toss a ball at Ace, which he was supposed to catch in solid form. It was a good way to train, and Ace was learning quickly.

Marco had been right about Ace being adept at his devil fruit. He was a fast learner at combat, unlike the reading and writing. The boys trained for a good two hours, Luffy finally making it to the top of the mast. He was then given the dangerous task of crawling across the yardarm upside down. Multiple pirates now stood under him to catch him if he fell, which he didn't. He only dropped down when he reached the end, and was caught in Rayuko's arms. He clearly didn't like the feel of Luffy in this form, so the boy immediately went back to normal.

"I did it!" he cheered, jumping up and down. It had taken him many hours to successfully complete that day's training. It was mid afternoon by the time all three boys were done for the day, exhausted. Sabo's arms were sore, Ace's whole body was tired after switching his power on and off for hours, and Luffy's whole body ached. He'd never done much in his half form. Mostly used his human body and his monster body, which was the reason he was being trained the way he was.

Haruta had hurried to the side of the ship when one of his division members came back holding a telescope. The pirates on deck all were alerted by the behavior, expecting a fight to come, but not knowing who it was against. The boys were all leaning against the wall of the cabin and drinking fizzy water from Thatch and some crustless sandwiches, just how they liked them.

They looked to the side to see Whitebeard and Marco walk to the side of the ship and look at the horizon. Whitebeard looked surprised, and the boys became worried. They got to their feet and walked to Marco, asking what was wrong.

"Some marines are heading our way. You three need to stay inside for the battle. It's a strong man on the ship. He could hurt you all easily, and he won't go easy on children if he believes you are on the crew, which you are, to us. So, you three need to wait inside," Marco explained. The three shared looks.

"But we've been training!" Ace protested. Luffy was nodding, too. They wanted to fight! To show they could hold their own like they had against the other marines.

Marco looked at them with sympathetic eyes. "It's not that we think you are weak, but Ace and Sabo will be useless against this man. He can cover his entire body is armament haki. He could beat Ace to pulp, and break your jitte. I don't know if he could harm Luffy or not, but we don't want to test it out in a situation like this," he explained. Ace's face fell, and Luffy pouted.

"Can't we take out the weaker ones?" Sabo questioned. Marco shook his head.

"If Vergo sees you as a threat, then he will go after you first. He's most likely coming to avenge Smoker and his men after Vista and you three killed them. As far as we know, nobody knows much about you three."

"Marco! Pops! There are more than one vice-admirals on that ship!" Haruta shouted in panic. "Boys, get inside _now_!" he shouted. The three knew vice-admirals were strong men in the marines, and they ran inside and hid in the galley under the tables.

They waited in the silence, until Thatch ran in, ushering the boys into the kitchen and into the cupboards. They were small enough to fit inside of them. Thatch said he was there to guard them, even though he desired to fight. "You'll be fine in here, and if anyone comes in, I'll protect you," he said calmly.

The boys wished they could fight, but trusted the pirates to know what was best. The fighting sounded not much later, but they couldn't see Thatch's reactions in the cupboards since they were closed and locked from the outside.


	26. The Good and the Terrible

**RIAEVANS: You are very welcome.**

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**A lot of stuff happens in this very long chapter, good and bad. I'm masochistic. I have 2 400 page stories to edit, both in the 140,000's word count. And instead of being smart and editing them, I write more, just piling more editing on myself. And I also have another 150 pages to edit on a story I've already started posting. -_- I'm stupid. Anyways, enjoy~**

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Whitebeard held his bisento for the first time in awhile, ready to fight to protect his sons against the strong ones in the marines. He honestly did not believe the vice-admirals were there to avenge Smoker. The marines were not like the Whitebeards: they did not care about their subordinates or colleagues as the pirate crew did.

The commanders had all of their weapons ready, standing at the railing, while the weaker fighters were spaced further around the deck. The commanders could hold their own against vice-admirals, which was why it was hard to find replacements for them. They had to be immensely strong.

The problem with fighting higher-ups in the marines was that they were skilled in haki, able to injure Marco, their strongest fighter. "Don't let any of them get inside the ship. They are here for a different reason than to avenge Smoker."

"Aye!" the crew shouted, weapons out and ready to defend their ship and crew. Marco was in phoenix form, perched on the lowest yardarm.

"I want the commanders to fight the vice-admirals, and team up if necessary. The rest of you, keep the lower ranking marines out of your commanders' ways! I'll take the strongest of them. Haruta, can you see who the vice-admirals are?" Whitebeard asked. He looked to his son, who could see those on deck on the ship easily.

"Momonga, Dalmatian, Onigumo, Vergo, and Strawberry," Haruta listed. "Shit! Aokiji is here!" the commander shouted. "There are also quite a bit of lower ranking marine fodder."

"I'll take Aokiji with the help of Marco and Jozu. You two are skilled at haki and his ice won't damage either of you. The rest, team up in your usual pairs and take whichever vice admiral comes at you. We all know they are not here for us, they want the boys. It looks like the marines made a call before their deaths after all."

The marine ship was there quickly, and everyone began their respective fights. Since there were five vice-admirals, each one got two or three commanders to fight. Aokiji clearly was assigned the strongest of the crew, Whitebeard, Marco and Diamond Jozu. the ice would go straight through Marco, and Jozu would deflect it when in diamond form.

Aokiji was by far the most difficult, while Vergo's strong armament haki was giving trouble to the sword users, who had their blades coated in haki. There were few close combat commanders on the crew, most using guns, swords or other weapons. Namur was using his fishman karate against Onigumo, with Vista using his sword covered in haki against them.

They weren't called commanders for nothing. The vice-admirals were having a lot of difficulty, while Aokiji went after the strongest of them. As usual, the man spoke while fighting, not even out of breath. Whitebeard's bisento was coated in haki, breaking through the ice easily, while Marco went in to claw at the man with haki covered feet. Jozu used haki on his already strong fists, doubled in power from both his diamond ability and the armament haki.

"We do not wish for the only decent admiral to die. Why are you here?" Whitebeard asked, not out of breath either. Aokiji had a hard time defending against three of the strongest on the crew.

"We're not here to take your heads if that's what you think. We're here for three children that were taken out of our custody," Aokiji said, shocking the three who he was fighting. Whitebeard's haki was unleashed as he was angrier than he had ever felt in his life. They had had no idea the World Government was behind the boys' situation.

Whitebeards growled, and swung his bisento at Aokiji, using the force of his power enough to break him to pieces but not strong enough to damage the ship or his sons. "How could you do those things to children? Did you know what the men at that place were doing to them?" Whitebeard wasn't surprised that the marines didn't care. But Luffy had killed tons of marines before, he'd said so himself.

"That hurt," the admiral complained. "We only need one of them. The other two are not necessary. That kid is our property, and we're taking him back."

"You'll never take Luffy away from us!" Marco shouted, going for Aokiji's eyes. Then, everyone on the deck froze as blood was sprayed against all of the marines, and all across the deck. The marines froze, even the vice-admirals, when the remains of a marine were spattered all over the deck and across many marines.

Luffy had come out, in full monster mode, dripping blood. He'd killed someone for the first time in many weeks. And it wasn't the last he would do.

-x-

While the boys were in the cupboards, trapped inside and being silent, they heard fighting and shouts coming from outside, echoing down the halls even though the door was closed. Thatch was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, both swords out.

The three couldn't see what was happening, but could tell someone had made it into the galley, someone they didn't welcome. They heard weapons clash, and shouting of profanity from Thatch. But then more marines flooded in, and it was too much for Thatch to handle. None of the boys wanted anything bad to happen to Thatch, and Ace kicked open the cupboard door, jumping out, followed by both of his brothers. Thatch was severely outnumbered, and Ace, Luffy and Sabo joined the fight. Sabo's jitte was on the far side of the kitchen, where marines were.

Luffy turned into full monster mode, and shot out his arm, snatching the jitte and handing it to Sabo. Luffy didn't hesitate to kill this time, even though he felt sick with the blood splattering everywhere from his slashing marines open across their guts or throats. He tried not to think about it, but there was a difference he felt.

He didn't like this. He didn't feel satisfied killing anyone. He wasn't happy, he _didn't want to._ Only months ago, Luffy wouldn't have batted an eye with killing, and would often feel satisfied. Knowing that wasn't how he felt now, he was killing, but only because he had to to protect his brothers.

When Thatch insisted the boys hide again, all of them covered in blood, Luffy refused, and absorbed the body that was most intact. He could be a distraction to the marines, and let the crew have the upper hand even if the marines only looked for a second. He would cause a scene.

When he got out on deck, the first thing he did was destroy the body inside of him and spew it out all over the deck. Some marines were covered in blood and guts and tiny pieces of bone. With the pause, Luffy stabbed multiple marines in vital places.

The high ranking marines, which were battling multiple commanders at a time, didn't seem to be surprised with Luffy's appearance. When he saw Haruta fall, head bleeding and knocked out, Luffy ran forward and pushed the commanders out of the way. His plan was changed. He wasn't going to cause a scene, he'd protect his new family, because that's what they were to him.

Ace, Sabo and Thatch came out, beating the smaller, still shocked and blood covered marines. Ace burned men to ashes, them screaming as they were on fire. It was a gruesome fight. Luffy was yelled at for pushing aside Kingdew and taking on Momonga, who had a sword covered in haki. Luffy was unafraid, as haki didn't injure him in this form.

The vice-admiral slashed at Luffy, but instead of being hurt, Luffy sucked in the sword and clamped his body down on it, spitting fragments of it into Momonga's face, getting it in his eyes, before he absorbed him and spit his remains all over the place as well. It was the distraction the pirates needed, taking the upper hand.

Luffy trusted the commanders to make it, and there were four that weren't distracted one bit. The man Whitebeard, Marco and Jozu were fighting. None of them had looked up at Luffy's arrival, focused only on each other. Luffy would not interfere with that fight.

He absorbed Haruta's unconscious body and ran to the open door into the ship and released him in there, now covered in saliva. Luffy than started to fight with his brothers, protecting them when needed and assisting when wanted.

By the time the fight was over, there were tons of dead bodies littered around the ship, mostly marines, and many severely injured pirates. They might die, but they weren't yet. Aokiji was not killed. After it was clear that they were losing, he took the remainder of his men that were alive, only including two vice-admirals, as three of them had been killed and tossed over the side of the ship so there weren't even any bodies to collect, Aojiki lead them back on the ship to retreat.

Marco didn't allow this, and tore their sails to pieces. He carried Ace over, who set the ship on fire on the mast and cabin, before Marco carried him back. They would all die or be stranded. The pirates had fought more violently than ever before, aiming to kill all of the marines after hearing they were responsible for the abuse and brainwashing of Luffy and the captivity of his brothers.

Once the deck was quiet, Luffy changed into human form, curled into a ball, and started to sob, soaked in blood.

-x-

Ace, Sabo and Marco ran to the boy, holding him while Marco rubbed his back as the boy sobbed. His hands were shaking when he looked at them. Marco looked to Namur. "Luffy, Namur is gonna wash the blood off, okay?" Luffy didn't respond, but his brothers nodded. Namur used his fishman karate to bring the water up out of the sea and dump it onto Luffy, washing the blood staining his skin and hair away. All there was left was the bloody clothes.

Ace carried Luffy inside immediately, so he didn't have to see the blood and bodies all around the deck. Marco was sore in some places, and Pops had a few small cuts, Jozu was unharmed, but Haruta was still unconscious, Izo had a bloody arm and Rayuko's precious weapon had been broken. The other commanders were tired and most were covered in bruises. It had not been an easy fight, but their desire to make the marines _pay _had helped dull the pain they felt while fighting.

Marco and Pops directed the clean up of the deck, dumping bodies over the side of the ship, and scrubbing away the blood with gloves. It took four hours of cleaning before the deck was clean again, though some of the ropes had blood stains. There was nothing they could do about those at the moment.

The infirmary was full to the brim with pirates, some waiting on chairs or the floor as the more severely injured pirates were taken care of first. Curiel was working as well. There were three dead pirates, all three from the third division. They would be burned out at sea as soon as they could have a ceremony. Their bodies would be washed of blood before then. It hurt the captain to see his sons' dead bodies. It was the worst feeling for any parent to have their children die before them.

Everyone had leftover anger, that the marines were behind it the whole time. And now they'd be after the boys, though they had no photos of any of the three, thankfully. But, it was only safe for them to stay on the ship now. It was not how Whitebeard wanted them to have to stay.

Marco eventually left to find Luffy crying in the bathhouse, sitting in the water as his brothers washed him thoroughly and scrubbed the blood out of his fingernails and hair. The bathwater was pink, as both older brothers had blood on them as well. The water would need to be cleaned and tub scrubbed and disinfected, but Marco didn't care about that at the moment.

The man walked to the tub and sat down. "Luffy, you saved many of the pirates on this ship," he said slowly and emphatically.

"But I-I killed," he sniffled.

"So did everyone else," Marco pointed out. "The majority of the dead marines were not from you.

"I made the galley dirty. There wer-were bad g-guys in there an-and I killed them," Luffy whispered through his tears.

"So did we," Sabo said. "And Thatch, too." Luffy just continued to cry. Marco frowned sympathetically.

Marco put his hand on Luffy's trembling shoulder. "Those men all deserved to die. They were behind your past life. We didn't think the marines were involved, and we didn't ask why, but you just took revenge on some of the people who hurt and imprisoned you."

The water around Ace burst into steam, but he was in water and unable to activate all of his power. Marco was seething as well, but hid it behind an exterior look of calm. "The marines will never get you again."

Then he sighed. "We are all sad that you did not join us voluntarily, but now you're forced to for your own safety. We're sorry," the phoenix said sincerely. The boys didn't look bothered one bit, and Marco wondered if they were still in shock or just didn't care.

"I wanted to stay anyways," Luffy confessed. Ace and Sabo didn't react, but Marco could see the discomfort on their faces. Either with what Luffy said or with the whole situation about them needing to stay. "But I won't stay without Ace and Sabo."

Marco didn't know what to say for about a full minutes as the boys scrubbed he blood off of each other. "If you truly don't want to stay, I'm sure we could set you up at a protected island under our crew. You have the choice to leave, no one will make you stay. But, maybe wait to leave until you're all a little stronger and guaranteed to survive marines or possibly bounty hunters after you."

Ace and Sabo nodded, while Luffy just stared at the pink bathwater, a blank look on his face. Clearly lost in thought, and Marco hoped they weren't bad ones. "Thanks, Marco. We'll see you later," Ace said softly. Marco left the room, walked down the hall a bit, and then punched a hole into the wall. He cursed softly. Why was he damaging the ship out of anger lately? He'd never done it before now. Well, when he was younger he'd bash through walls, but he was in his forties now, he knew better.

He took a few deep breaths and leaned his head back. What could they do now? The last thing they all wanted to do was force the boys to stay. As much as they wanted to keep the three, never would they take away their freedom.

But now, knowing the marines were behind it and knew they who the boys were, it was dangerous for them to be anywhere. And, if they dropped the boys off at an island, no doubt would the marines spin it so the boys were evil monsters, maybe still toting the whole "demon devil fruit" bullshit. They could easily make the public afraid of the boys, Luffy especially. If they'd gotten any photos of Luffy slaughtering the marines, never would anyone be comfortable around him, no matter how sweet or kind he is.

To be honest, _none _of them had thought the marines were behind it, but should they really be surprised? The World Government supported slavery, murder and killing innocent people on whims. Is testing on children anything they shouldn't have assumed? And everyone knew the marines thought their own men were fodder, but why would they sic Luffy on their own people? It didn't make sense to Marco.

The least the pirates could do for the three was give them freedom, if they wished, after they were strong enough to defend themselves. Luffy was well on his way, as long as he stayed away from water and alcohol. Ace was showing progress and potential, as was Sabo. Some day, maybe sooner than they would like, the boys would be able to live by themselves. But the Whitebeards didn't want that.

Marco left the hall, glancing back at the hole in the wall with embarrassment, and went to find Pops. He found him in the captain's quarters, downing bottles of alcohol in his couch, looking angry. Marco knew he was angry at the situation and marines. The damn World Government had almost ruined Luffy completely, could have killed the brothers on a whim if Luffy wouldn't retaliate.

"Pops, I talked to the boys. They're taking a bath to wash all of the blood off. None of them were fond of being forced to stay. I told them that we could drop them off on a protected island once we train them to be strong enough. I'm sorry I said it without your permission," Marco said sincerely. Pops drank the last of the current bottle of sake and sighed.

"That was the right thing to say, as it is the truth. If they truly don't want to stay, I don't want to force them," the captain said. "Why couldn't the marines have revealed this _after _they joined? Screw them," Pops said angrily, popping open the lid of another bottle. It was very hard for him to get drunk, but he was still drinking a lot. Marco didn't dream of scolding him about it, not now.

Marco sat on the arm of the big chair. "Luffy said he wanted to stay anyway, but would not hesitate to leave if his brothers chose to not join," he explained. "It's a mess, and I think the whole ordeal might have really messed up Luffy. He was sobbing his eyes out. When will the marines stop hurting him?"

Whitebeard rubbed Marco's back, sensing the man reaching his breaking point. You could only be strong for so long. "Probably not until they have Luffy in their custody. Now that Luffy has his own independence, it wouldn't matter if Ace and Sabo were killed off. The boy would hate being with the marines regardless. Luffy is strong, but still suffering from trauma, and having to do this today probably messed with his head. After all, he'd decided, with conviction, that he wasn't going to kill anymore. And then he slaughtered dozens of people in the most gruesome way, doused in blood by the end," Whitebeard said sadly.

"We can protect them," Marco said, though the conviction in his voice was weak. "Or at least, teach them to protect themselves," he added when Whitebeard sighed.

"That, we can do. It's a messy situation that's just become messier. We should have killed Aokiji, he probably got away even if he was the only one," the captain lamented. Marco shook his head in disagreement.

"Having you kill one of the admirals would have sent the government after us. The only ones they really care about are the admirals and a handful of the more seasoned vice-admirals. We killed three of them, but it would not be as big a deal if we'd offed Aokiji as well. We did the best we could, and Luffy's help, though the end result is not ideal, was what changed the tide of the battle," Marco explained. Whitebeard nodded in agreement. Killing Aokiji would have been bad. Very bad.

"We did the best we could at the time," Whitebeard amended.

-x-

After the bath, the brothers retired to the Special Room Marco gave them, or allowed them to use, to go someplace and be isolated. Luffy was asleep in Ace's arms, tired after the bath and emotionally exhausted after what had happened. They passed injured pirates, and Sabo waved off concern for Luffy.

They laid him on the couch and both older brothers took the carpeted floor. "Did you know he wanted to stay?" Ace asked quietly, even though they both knew Luffy would be deeply asleep.

"I mean, I think we both assumed. Even though things have affected _him_ mostly, he still wants to stay. The whole Teach incident, Whiskey's misstep, and now him having to kill when he made so much effort to _not _anymore. It's not the Whitebeards' fault that the marines came after us. They did their best to protect us, but it was just too much for everyone. Luffy's involvement saved many of the pirates' lives," Sabo explained. He was staring at his hands.

"The decision is now on us, then," Ace summed up. "Stay, or leave." He turned to his blonde brother, and asked, "What do you want?"

Sabo didn't reply for a minute, warring with the logical side of his brain and the emotional. On one hand, staying with the Whitebeards was safer than going off on their own, and it made Luffy feel more people cared about him other than praising him for going on missions. The emotional side of him was at war as well. Between the bad things that had happened, and the change in Luffy since being welcomed on the ship.

"I think they have done a lot of good things for us and Luffy especially. I think the good outweighs the bad by now. No one forced Luffy to take part in the battle. From the start, they tried to hide us. It just... didn't work out too well…" Sabo petered off. Ace agreed, looking back at their little brother.

Ace sighed and laid on his back on the fluffy carpet, thinking. "What should we do, then?" he finally sighed. "Let's try not to think of this as 'we're staying for safety'. Do we _want _to stay?" Ace questioned quietly. Sabo was silent, too. "C'mon, don't you always know what to say?"

Sabo gave him a quick glare. "I'm not perfect, Ace. I'm only smarter when it comes to literary and technical skills." Ace huffed, and asked him the question again. "I don't know, okay? Part of me wants to stay, but part of me doesn't want to be chained down here, y'know?"

The boys were quiet for a moment, waiting for the other to start talking again. When neither of them did, Ace stepped up. "We're only twelve. Luffy's eight. We wouldn't be setting out for another five years anyways, even if we hadn't been taken by Lu. We don't have to get the tattoos, we can leave whenever we want to. Besides, we'll grow stronger here, won't we? Marco said so."

Sabo was nodding. "Then, if we do want to stay for good, then we can. And the marines won't be after us as easily if we stay, right?" Ace nodded in agreement. "Do we tell Luffy we plan on possibly leaving when we get older?"

"Yeah, we can't lie to him," the oldest said in a definitive voice. "We'll wait for him to wake up." There was no problem and Luffy slept peacefully, most likely because he just took a bath. They hoped so much that he wouldn't get nightmares. He hadn't been needing the bath for a couple days, they didn't want to go back to it right away. But they also didn't want to be skewered in their sleep.

Luffy had gained a lot more control since then, so they could trust his powers more in his sleep. They would always trust Luffy, even if they didn't in the first place. So many things had changed in two years it was crazy.

Three hours later, Ace and Sabo playing with an old pack of cards they found in the end table drawer Luffy woke up. He immediately curled into a ball on the couch on his side, hiding his face in his knees. The movement was what alerted his brothers that he was finally awake.

"Hey, Lu," Sabo said quietly. Luffy nodded, but didn't show his face. Instead of brining up the battle and massacre, Sabo decided to get to the point. Not to pity Luffy, as he would hate that, but to tell him what he and Ace had decided on. "We have both been talking about the choice to stay or leave." This woke him up completely and he sat up straight, not knowing what answer to expect.

Ace spoke up. "We've decided to join, but will not promise on staying the rest of our lives. Just until we're all old enough to set out on our own. So, we'll be here at least 5 more years, depending on how strong we are."

Luffy's face lit up just barely. "For many years?" Luffy asked, just to be clear. When they nodded, he sighed out. "When are we gonna tell them?"

Sabo and Ace shared a glance. "Not until morale is raised after the battle. Don't we want them to know we're staying not just for safety from the marines, even though that is a slight part of it?" the blonde brother replied. Luffy nodded in agreement. He smiled slightly. Things might get better once they officially join.

The rest of the day, everyone were sad. Three of the crew had died after all. Their bodies were cleaned up and they were sent out to sea on rafts, to have Izo use a bow and arrow to shoot arrows that were on fire to burn the rafts as they drifted away. It was a sad occasion, and the three felt like they were trespassing.

After the funeral, dessert was served out on deck, a celebration of the life of their passed brothers. They'd just had something to mourn their deaths, and now they had to do something to celebrate their lives.

No one had talked to Luffy about the fight besides Marco. They were giving Luffy space, which was appreciated. The boys wanted to forget it ever happened. That night, everyone took a risk and did not give Luffy a second bath that day so he'd sleep soundly. They had trust that Luffy had control. He didn't, but he didn't hurt anyone either.

_A large group of faceless marines surrounded Luffy, all brandishing weapons. Luffy didn't want to kill anyone ever again, not if he could help it, so he shied away, wanting them to be gone. Wishing they would leave him and his brothers alone, who weren't there, thankfully. Luffy didn't need to protect them. _

_Luffy felt smaller and smaller as they walked closer to him. Soon, he disappeared completely, still able to see things around him, but he was so small no one noticed him, and he slipped to safety between the floorboards, away from his enemies he didn't want to harm. No one was there that he needed to protect, and he was not afraid of running away to not have to kill._

Ace woke up the moment his arm hit the mattress they were sleeping on. It was supposed to be their last night in that room and were going to go back to their previous room, but that was pushed back after what had happened during the battle with Luffy.

When he opened his eyes, the freckled child immediately knew what was wrong. Luffy was missing. He sat up and jerked his body around to look around the room before leaving the bed and hurrying to the bathroom, where he found nobody. He was making a lot of noise, opening and slamming the closet door shut, before going to run for Sabo and get his help to search for their emotionally vulnerable baby brother.

Of course, this woke Marco up, who sat up and blinked sleepily, before seeing Ace run back to the side room frantically. He got up, concerned about what had happened as Ace shook Sabo awake. Marco entered the room and asked what had happened.

Ace was about to tell him Luffy was missing when he noticed something moving under the blankets. Sabo threw the sheets off completely and they all saw a tiny ball of black slime, about the size of a golf ball. Luffy had shrunken down to a tiny ball. He wasn't moving, and Ace picked him up gently, the boy sticking to the blankets.

"Lu, wake up. You're safe," Ace whispered, holding the tiny ball in his warm hands that he was making warm on purpose, but not catching fire. The ball moved around a little bit, making the other three think he'd woken up. When it became heavier, Ace set him down so he reformed and grew to his normal size.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Sabo asked genty, is thumb caressing his hands. The brothers knew that was the new way he was going to cope with nightmares. It was better than destroying the room, but it was also very sad.

"Okay…" Luffy said, not sure what happened.

Ace explained, "You were a tiny little ball. Did you have bad dreams?" Luffy nodded his head, but didn't start crying. "Did you hide instead of fight back?" The two assumed that was what had happened. Luffy hadn't fought back in real life through his dream, but had become as small as possible, much smaller than Ace and Sabo ever knew he could, and probably hid using that size.

"I didn't want to fight, so I got small and fell through the deck someplace safe," he explained. "I hid, I didn't want to kill anyone anymore." He sniffled once, and was taken into a big hug by both brothers. Neither said he wouldn't need to kill again. It wasn't true if marines really were coming after them.

Ace ran his hand through Luffy's fluffy black hair gently. "You're here, with us. Not surrounded by bad people. It was just a dream," Sabo said soothingly. Luffy nodded, wiping his wet eyes and not wanting to cry.

The three paid little attention to Marco, who was watching from the open doorway. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" Sabo questioned. Luffy still looked exhausted, and rarely had more than one nightmare on the same night. He nodded, and instead of laying in the middle of the brothers, he curled into Ace, chest to chest with Ace holding him close.

Marco stayed awake, making sure they were still asleep.

When morning came, Luffy was in normal form. Not that tiny, sad form. Sabo woke both of his brothers since the sun was streaming through the porthole window. The two raven haired children woke up, both sleepy but Luffy not scared. They were glad he didn't have another nightmare.

Next time he saw Wendy, he'd talk about his new nightmare. It was very different than the previous ones, but it was also from a different event than his other nightmares. Now he had more trauma, but he would get better, hopefully, before something else happens. He still had hope, though it had gotten significantly smaller than before.

He knew people would try to convince him he'd done the right thing, and maybe he had, but it still upset him that all of his progress in not killing was erased and he had to start over. He hoped no one on the crew was afraid of him now.

Walking to the galley, no one gave Luffy scared or apprehensive looks, which soothed some of Ace and Sabo's worries. Luffy kept his head down most of the time, scratching absentmindedly at his arms, remembering when they were covered in blood the day before. It felt like it just happened.

Luffy wondered if someone had a devil fruit that could take away memories. If so, he wanted to meet them and have them take away the memories of slaughtering marines all over the ship. When Namur entered the room, looking grumpy with a newspaper in his hand, the brothers knew something bad was in it.

They waited for anyone to bring it up when Whitebeard sat down. The boys were fairly certain he and Marco came in late due to the first mate telling him about Luffy's new coping mechanism to bad dreams. It was a safer one, though more pathetic and Luffy knew it.

But, he wasn't living now to look strong to other people. He used to be forced to, to not give himself a bad name, even if no one lived to say what killed them. The boy was not going to pretend he had no problems, that he was fine. Not only would it be an obvious lie, but he just didn't want to do that.

"What is it, son?" Ace heard Whitebeard say quietly. Luffy and Sabo were sitting just far enough away to not hear. Ace pretended he didn't either.

"They've got a single bounty. There was a camera snail on the ship," Namur said. He pulled out a single piece of paper, and Ace barely saw that it said Wanted on it. He had a feeling he and his brothers now had bounties. And while it had been fun to imagine having a bounty, now it was just scary, not that he would admit it.

Luffy was unaware, while Sabo was watching Ace's reaction to what he could hear but the other two couldn't. Whitebeard and the commanders that could hear looked in the boys' direction, unable to help it. They noticed Ace staring at them, and clearly knew there was no chance of him letting this go. So, the Wanted poster was handed down to the boys.

Ace set it in front of Luffy, who was in the middle. I was a photo that was not clear, but featured all three brothers. Ace was on fire, Luffy was in his huge monster form, and Sabo's face was blocked by a marine's sword. Under the not-so-good photo was "only alive", and a bounty of 200,000,000 berris. It was a lot for a first bounty, and Ace and Sabo couldn't help but be annoyed that they hadn't earned this bounty for anything special. Just who their brother was.

Luckily, though, Luffy wasn't exposed. He hadn't turned into human form once during the fight, which was very good. "It has our names, but the faces are hard to see," Ace said as enthusiastically as he could. "Says we're on the Whitebeard crew."

"Which is a good thing. It will deter many pirates or bounty hunters to go after you as long as you're here," Izo commented lightly. The three boys nodded, before turning the paper over and laying it back on the table so they couldn't see the front of it, and went back to their food, eating even less enthusiastically than before.

Training that day was not very lively. Luffy was moping, not even trying today. As much as Izo tried to get him motivated, Luffy just hid his face in his knees. When Izo finally got it that Luffy would not be doing anything today, he got Thatch to bring him something to eat or drink. Thatch agreed immediately and made the depressed boy a chocolate milkshake.

"I heard about your dream last night," Thatch said. Luffy tensed, but didn't reply, drinking the milkshake slowly. "I think that it a more normal coping mechanism, to try and hide. Some of our brothers had lived as slaves before joining the ship. It's not the same, but their coping when having flashbacks or nightmares were to curl up into balls to try and protect themselves. You did that, only you shrunk very small. And you didn't hurt your brothers or the room. That's good, right?"

Luffy slowly nodded, but was no more cheerful than before. He mainly watched his brothers fight after he got his face of out his knees.

Sabo tried his best, but was distracted, as was Ace. Sabo was getting hit over and over, but was glad Vista didn't go easy on him, making him _have _to pay attention so he wasn't injured. Ace was lethargic as Marco hit him over and over.

And the phoenix wasn't having it. "You're barely trying Ace!" he shouted irritably. "You want to be free don't you? How will you be free if you can't even muster up the will to fight?" Ace glared at him. "Aren't you angry at the marines? At the world? They did horrible things to Luffy, your baby brother! Don't you want to do payback? Don't you want them to regret ever messing with you three? Don't you want to protect Luffy, who is stronger than you are?! His big brother should be able to protect him!"

Everyone on deck knew he didn't mean these things, but was trying to get Ace to fight back. "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Ace shot back, shoulders flaming in anger at Marco's words, and the truth of them.

"Then make me shut up! I won't be quiet or stop talking unless you make me! You're acting weak right now! Do you want to be weak? Do you want to have zero motivation to even _try?!" _

"Shut the fuck up!" Ace blew up, lighting himself on fire.

"Is that the best you can do? Light on fire with no control?!" Whitebeard was clearly about to step in, not liking the things his son was saying.

"SHUT UP!" Ace roared and a huge plume of fire rushed towards Marco, lighting the deck on fire until barrels of water were tossed on it. Marco was unharmed, and grinning. Ace looked shocked.

"Looks like anger is fuel for your fire, Ace," Marco said with a grin, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. Ace was still surprised. "Wanna name your first attack move?" Ace thought for a moment, before giving a small smile.

"Fire fist," he said, as he his hand had been in a fist when the fire erupted. With Ace's sudden progress, he felt motivated, but they moved to back of the deck, where there were less people and not so close to the masts and aiming out to the sea at the railing. He was actually practicing by himself, stewing in anger about everything.

He couldn't always use anger, but it sure was good for training. He couldn't see, but Sabo had lost the distraction, wanting to make as much progress as Ace suddenly had, and knew practice made perfect, and that was what he needed.

The only brother still not motivated was Luffy, though he was proud of Ace and Sabo. Pirates tried to motivate Luffy, but they wanted to be gentle with him. No one would do what Marco had done for Ace. Luffy, at least since coming there, was much more sensitive than Ace. When put down, he grew sad instead of angry. The brothers knew many could not believe that he'd ever killed when he got angry or upset.

Eventually, Whitebeard called Luffy over, and had him sit on his shoulder like Marco had. He had not so good balance on his shoulder, so he stuck himself with his power to the shoulder of his captain's coat. The captain didn't say anything about it.

The man didn't wait for Luffy to say anything before he started telling the boy stories of their adventures over the decades that he was a pirate, even starting at the **beginning of his pirate career on the Rocks Pirates, which he rarely spoke of**. Only to a few of his commanders. Pirates had distanced themselves from Luffy and stayed that way when he sat with Whitebeard. Luffy, thankfully, knew it wasn't that they were afraid of him, but still respecting his wish to be given space by those he didn't know well.

"I thought Big Mom and Kaido were bad?" Luffy questioned, earning a smile from Whitebeard for him being distracted.

"**Oh they were a nightmare to work with. We only stayed together for five years before we were defeated and then disbanded. We were the strongest crew of our time. It was nothing like my crew now. We weren't friends, more like we just had to work together. I don't miss those days. I haven't spoken to anyone from that crew in a long time. I'm much happier here," Whitebeard explained. **

"What about the other emperors? Aren't there four?" the young boy asked.

"There are. Red-hair Shanks is the newest emperor. He's the only one of us who is the size of the average human," the captain said with a hearty laugh. "He's got spunk, and he's young compared to the other emperors. Shanks can be a pain in the ass, though. He's not very mature for his age, but he sometimes comes here to share sake and catch up on things."

Luffy was interested in learning about the world, since he was isolated from it for so long. Ace and Sabo knew much more things than Luffy. "So you're friends?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't say friends. Maybe acquaintances. We're friendly with one another but not friends," the man explained.

"Who do you think is the strongest in the world? Is it you? Commanders said it was you," Luffy wondered. Whitebeard thought for a long moment.

"I would no longer consider myself as the strongest in the world. In my hayday, yes. My fruit is the most destructive, but I am not necessarily the strongest. **I would have to give that title to Monkey D. Garp and Gol D. Roger when he was still alive. Both of them defeated a crew that had three emperors in it. That would make them incredibly strong, and they don't even have devil fruits! **I do think it depends on what you define as "strong". Physically, devil fruit wise, or the more fearsome?

"The government has given me the title as "the strongest man in the world". I did not proclaim myself as such, but gladly take it as a compliment." Then he laughed, shaking Luffy on his shoulder though he didn't fall thanks to the stick.

Luffy smiled lightly, completely distracted by the conversation and not thinking of sad things that he was before. He watched Sabo fight while the two were silent, Luffy trying to come up with more distracting questions.

"How are you feeling, Luffy?" Whitebeard suddenly asked. "We have not talked much about it, but I know Marco talks to you very often." When Luffy was quiet, Whitebeard added, "If you do not wish to talk about it, then I will not force you. Just because you are on my ship does not mean that I take your free will away from you."

This seemed to make Luffy more comfortable. "I'm sad about learning the marines did it cause they're a big thing and hunting me and Ace and Sabo is dangerous. I wanted to stay, even though bad things keep happening, but I'm worried Ace and Sabo will not want to stay, or feel forced to stay. But, I won't stay if they don't want to," Luffy said honestly.

"We would very much like you to stay, too. We are also very angry and upset about the marines being behind it because we do not want you to force yourselves to stay because of safety reasons," Whitebeard replied, just as honestly. Luffy frowned, looking down at his hands.

"I don't know how to make them want to stay," Luffy said quietly. Whitebeard gave a sigh.

"I do not want you to try to convince them to stay, only for them to change their minds and regret it later. I want you three to be happy here. For you to feel as good as you can after everything that has happened," the captain explained. "Why don't we talk to your brothers about this, and I will make it clear that we don't want to force you to stay, and will not try? Sabo looks like he needs a break, as does Ace since there's no more sounds of fire."

"Kay," Luffy said and unstick himself from the captain's shoulder, running off to get Ace and Sabo.

The three returned to Whitebeard, who was smiling warmly at the boys. "What is it?" Sabo asked. He was sweating after the amount of exertion he was putting into his fighting, and Ace looked exhausted. The three sat down when the captain asked them to.

"I'd like to be straightforward about your wanting to stay or leave the ship," Whitebeard said, getting right to the point. There would be no tiptoeing around on the subject. "Luffy has told me he wishes to stay, but will leave if you two choose to."

Ace and Sabo weren't angry about Luffy telling the captain this. "We were actually gonna talk to Luffy about it this morning, but got sidetracked after waking up," Sabo said. Ace nodded in agreement. "We, me and Ace, decided that we will stay here for now. At least until our time is to set out and be pirates of our own. We may change our mind, but we'll be staying here for at least five years."

"We'd like to not have to get the tattoos," Ace added, both boys looking nervous. Luffy looked happy, glad they'd be staying for at least a couple years.

"That is perfectly fine. We welcome you, for however long you'd like to stay," Whitebeard grinned, beaming like the sun. "While you are here, we will make you strong enough to form your own crew and set off, able to depend on yourselves and one another."

Luffy then asked, "Do we call you Pops, too?" They couldn't make out the tone of Luffy's voice, or his feelings on the matter.

"Only if you'd like. Though, I won't hesitate to call you my sons. It's been hard enough to censor myself for these past months," the captain laughed. Those who heard the news cheered, though not too loudly to startle Luffy.

A few of the commanders came over and were grinning. Marco especially. Even though it might not be permanent, the boys were staying. "Seeing as you are now part of our crew and family, do you swear to stay until you are ready to set out?"

Luffy looked to Ace and Sabo, who nodded solemnly, like they were serious, not that tey were upset their were shackled here, which they weren't. "Great! We are having a party tonight in your honor. No alcohol." Some of the pirates booed about that, but Marco shut them down immediately.

"Are you three comfortable sharing the reason we restrict the alcohol now that we are your new family?" Whitebeard asked after asking them to come nearer to him. Luffy nodded, as did his brothers though they were a bit more reluctant. "Good, we will make the announcement at dinner tonight. After that, we will have a party."

The three nodded. Training was over that day as Sabo and Ace were exhausted. No one made Luffy train even after he was in a better mood. No one wanted to ruin it. When the three heard they were arriving at an island in a couple days, they were both glad and sad to hear the shipwrights could get the correct supplies to fix up the rest of the second division room.

They had grown so used to sleeping in Marco's space, which still felt safe. Even though they were now part of the crew, and everyone seemed really happy, it still felt more reassuring to stay in Marco's room. They knew it was kind of stupid, but it didn't change how they felt about it.

Marco, like most times, seemed to be able to read the boys' minds. "You may still stay in my space until things get a bit better. And remember, Luffy, you have an appointment with Wendy today," Marco reminded him. They had forgotten about it after the announcement and decision, but Wendy hated canceling sessions. The youngest nodded.

The boys were glad to keep staying in Marco's room for now. Mostly if there was an emergency with Luffy, he would be there instantly. But, his room was only across the hall from them, so it was a bit ridiculous, but they were doing it for Luffy mostly. He felt safer with a room someone would have to cross through first to get to them.

Ace and Sabo knew they needed to break down the walls of mistrust between them and much of the crew. After all, they were considered family now. Family trusts each other. And the two were willing to start over with Whiskey. They planned to go see her while Luffy was in his appointment. The rooms were side by side so if Luffy needed them, they'd get there in only a few seconds.

An hour later, Luffy sat on the comfy couch, Wendy sitting across from him, always in her chair. "I know you have been having a hard time after the fight. Would you like to talk about it?" Wendy asked softly. Luffy wanted to talk to someone he didn't know as well as his brothers and Marco, and nodded.

"I… decided I didn't want to kill people anymore. I want to be better, good. And then, when the marines came into the galley and I heard Thatch fighting, we broke out of the cupboards and started fighting. I didn't even think of an alternative than to kill them. Usually… so far, I've gone after the legs. But, they were really bad guys that everyone was scared of, so I wanted to help.

"I absorbed a guy and went outside and was as scary as I could be and sprayed blood and guts and stuff all over the deck. I killed a lot of people, and I think I had a panic attack afterwards when I started crying. I don't think anyone noticed that."

Wendy was looking sympathetic, for once not only writing, but looking at him and not her clipboard, which was set in her lap. "Do you feel you have changed back after what you had to do?"

Luffy looked down at his fingers, already knowing the answer. It was the only thing that brought comfort to him about the whole mess. "No. I still wanna be good and not kill. I didn't feel happy or satisfied when i killed them. I was doing it for my friends and brothers, not cause I wanted to.

"I… did feel better after everyone was gone, and I killed some of the important people, but only cause the fight was over and there were only a few dead pirates. I wanted to help the commanders cause I like them the most," Luffy explained, eyes looking at the floor now.

Wendy put her hand on Luffy's shoulder. "If you feel you are still good, but have done a bad thing, then you're like most on this crew. Fighting is fun for most, but the killing isn't what makes it fun. After all, we rarely kill enemy crews. The only reason commander Vista killed those marines was for the safety of those he cared about. Just like you have.

"Do you think Vista is a bad guy?" Luffy shook his head. "Then you are not a bad guy either," the counselor said emphatically. Luffy nodded.

"Would you like to talk about your nightmares? Have you had any recently?" Wendy asked, back in her chair and not leaning forward anymore.

Luffy sighed, and then said, "Not really anymore but last night I did after the whole thing. It was different cause I didn't fight back. It was a bunch of marines all pointing weapons at me. They didn't have any faces, but I didn't want to fight back or kill them. I just got smaller and smaller until I fell through a crack in the floor and away from the bad guys.

"I did that in my sleep, too. Ace and Sabo and Marco woke up and found me in a tiny ball, so small Ace could hold me. I don't remember doing it, but I felt kinda weird afterwards. Like, my head felt fuzzy," Luffy explained. "It's better than hurting my brothers, I'd rather hurt myself than hurt them."

"Would you like to go back to taking baths before bed? To make sure you don't do anything in your sleep?" Luffy looked embarrassed, thinking about the one time he peed the bed. He shook his head, but didn't say anything about wetting the bed. It was just too embarrassing, even if Wendy wouldn't tell anyone else.

"Why don't we end on a happy note? I've heard you and your brothers have officially joined the family. How do you feel about that?" Wendy asked with a warm smile. Luffy smiled for the first time in that session.

"I'm happy. We might not stay for forever, but until we're good enough to be on our own safely. We have a sorta-crappy Wanted poster now, so people might come after us, I don't know. I'm happy I get to stay with Marco and Thatch and White- Pops," Luffy said, testing the word out. He's never had a father, so he didn't know what it was like to have one.

"I'm so glad you're happy, Luffy. It's a very nice thing to see your smile. I sure hope you show one more now that you have a big and loving family to take care and make you happy. It's a long road to recovery, but you have many more people to help you, including me," Wendy said with a smile. "Welcome to the family, Luffy." Luffy beamed again and nodded.

While Luffy was talking with Wendy, the older brothers were standing in front of Whiskey, feeling a bit awkward. She seemed nervous, too, maybe thinking they were going to bite her head off again. They hadn't spoken in weeks. When they were in the infirmary for anything, it was with Tami and they ignored the head nurse.

"Can I help you boys?" she asked, sounding like she was walking on eggshells. Sabo put her out of her misery.

"Since we're joining the crew for a couple years at least, we want to start over. Luffy forgave you for hurting his feelings and calling him psycho, but we've had a hard time with it. But, we want to start over, so we'll put that incident in the past," Sabo explained in a polite voice. Ace was doing his best to seem civil. He really was, he wanted to move on and forgive what had happened. It was just difficult.

"That's great," Whiskey said, sounding sincere but not too optimistic. "I'm so sorry about that meeting. I was acting like I was speaking with only adults. For a moment, I forgot that Luffy was an eight year old. There is no real excuse, but it was an accident, and I'm glad you forgive me," Whiskey replied. "Welcome to the family."


	27. An Unexpected Letter

**izzywolf22: thank you!**

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**Someone stop me. I keep digging myself deeper. I have two stories over 140,000 words long, half of From Another Time (which I already started posting) and am writing an unfinished one that is at 90,000 words now to edit. Over 900 pages to edit. More, depending on how long the one I'm writing now is. I'm just having so much fun writing these ones. But too long! Anyways, enjoy~**

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Dinner that night featured all of the boys' favorite foods. The party would be playing games out on the deck, hide and seek around the ship, and some sparring for the boys if they wished, even if they might still be tired. There would be no alcohol, and after much of the crew was done eating, Whitebeard stood up, silencing the room.

The boys were sitting at their usual places, though Luffy was sitting on a stool that the shipwrights had made for him to actually sit properly at the table since he was so small. Marco was glad Luffy was happy with it and not offended. He was very small, after all, not even as big as the bottom of the captain's foot.

"I'd like to explain why we have restricted the places you can drink any alcohol. There is a reason, and I thank you for not hounding us on wanting the answers. The reason is for Luffy's safety. Any sort of alcohol, even diluted, burns him severely. The burn he got that took so long to heal after Teach was not because of the cut, but because of a burn from Whiskey administering rubbing alcohol to close the wound.

"That is why we wish to have places where Luffy will not go to be safe. That's why we hound everyone at cleaning up every drop of alcohol you spill. The boys have put a lot of trust in everyone to tell you that Luffy's one _real _weakness is not seastone of haki, but damn _alcohol,"_ the captain finished. The room was silent before people started looking angry.

An eruption of "why didn't anyone tell us?!" and "you should have let us know!" filled the galley. Luffy started to get uncomfortable with the loud noises, and as he moved to cover his ears, Marco noticed and told the room, sternly, to shut up. He pointed to Luffy and said, "Real way to welcome him by giving him a panic attack!"

The room fell silent, and quiet apologies now filled the room. Luffy's face was red in embarrassment and shame, and Ace and Sabo rubbed his back softly. Whitebeard waited for everyone to quiet down, before speaking again. "We cannot afford to let this information spread _anywhere _other than on this ship. If we do, the marines and any bounty hunters can immediately incapacitate Luffy, just by throwing a bottle of beer at him," the captain stressed.

The room was quiet, but pirates were nodding along, they can't let the facts get out or spread anywhere. "All devil fruit users have a weakness to sea stone, _but _Luffy. All devil fruit users are weak to haki, _but _Luffy most of the time. So, without having those weaknesses, Luffy can fight back. But not if alcohol is in the mix. _Any _alcohol, even something you wouldn't even taste any in it.

"We have to be careful with this information, and I'm trusting all of you, as your father, to keep your new brother's weakness a secret," Whitebeard finished. Murmured promises filled the room, Luffy with his head down on the table.

Ace and Sabo got up and took Luffy out of the room. "We'll be back out in a little bit for the party," Sabo said. But, Marco stopped them, putting his hand on Ace's shoulder before the three left the room.

"Nobody wants a party where the guests of honor are upset. The party does not need to happen tonight," the phoenix said quietly. Ace looked at the clock on the wall, seeing it was 8:00. Dinner always lasted longer than any of the other meals.

"We don't want the party tonight. We're sorry," Sabo said quietly. "I think we're gonna try and head to bed."

Marco nodded. "Alright, if there are any problems, you can tell anyone. We're family now. It may get hard to used to, but we look out for one another. Good night, boys," the first mate said in a soft voice. He could tell Luffy was close to tears, probably humiliated that his weakness was now known by everyone. Maybe a little afraid as well, now.

Over a thousand people now knew of something that only some had known about. The pirates were sad that the day the boys joined had gone bad at the end. But, the best thing was to start over fresh on a new day. Marco just hoped he slept alright tonight.

Whitebeard sat at the table with his hands joined. "I wish we could have said all of that in private, but having them there made things more real to everyone else," he said to the commanders. The chatter of the room had resumed, though it was noticeably more quiet than it was before.

The commanders all looked a bit bummed. After all, they were going to have a party to welcome the boys and instead they went to bed upset and stressed. Jozu said, "The problem is that alcohol is so common everywhere in the world. Sea stone and haki are scarce, you either have to be a marine or a skilled pirate to use those as weapons against a devil fruit user. The difference between the commonality is huge."

The commanders nodded, and Thatch frowned deeply. "I wish we weren't so dependent on it." The other agreed, though getting rid of alcohol was just not practical on a pirate ship. If they did that, the crew would come to hate Luffy, and they couldn't have that. They just needed to be incredibly careful, and the commanders were told to brainstorm safer ways to handle the alcohol.

By the end of the day, when Marco went to bed late that night, he peeked inside to see Ace and Sabo, with the tiny ball of Luffy resting in Ace's hand on the pillow. Marco worried about Luffy being that small. At the beginning of them joining the ship, when they were inspecting the fruit, Luffy had a limit of how small he could be, and it was in no way as small as _this. _

He went to bed with a long sigh, wishing Luffy could live like a normal kid his age. That thought was always in the back of everyone's mind.

-x-

The next day was much better than the previous. Luffy was not startled awake, but coaxed by his brothers quietly. During the night, Ace had noticed Luffy shrink, and gently took him into his warm hand. In the morning, Luffy was a bit foggy in the head, and it made Ace and Sabo worried. There was nothing they could do about Luffy's fruit acting up on its own other than to resume the bath treatment.

They went to breakfast earlier than usual to find Thatch sitting at the table, not cooking for once. He was scribbling things down on a piece of paper, and scowling at it. The boys walked up to him, and Luffy asked if he was okay.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Thatch looked up, and they noticed he had some circles under his eyes.

"I had trouble sleeping last night, and I'm trying to come up with ideas to make the ship safer for you," the chef replied honestly. "We were told to brainstorm how to make things better, and man, was I brainstorming all night."

"I'm sorry," Luffy said quietly. Thatch grinned at him and ruffled his hair.

"It's not your fault that I'm so empathetic," he replied. "I've always been like this. I had tons of younger siblings when I was young, and I've always been a sucker for helping kids, even though I'm a big, bad pirate. We tease Marco for being a mother-hen, but I can't say I'm not one also."

The boys sat down next to him, smiling softly. Even though Thatch could be an idiot sometimes, he was truly a good person in their eyes. "Thatch, why did you become a pirate? You left your family, right?"

Thatch sighed and looked at his hands and the piece of paper that was basically chicken scratch that no one but he could read. Luffy was about to say he didn't need to answer, but he did so before the boy could say anything.

"My island had a plague break out on it. The survivors, which were about thirteen, including me, were all stuck on the island before marines came, and said we were ill, too, even if we weren't. So, they torched the place. I was able to get off with one other survivor, but we starved out at sea and I was the one that lasted longer. Then, the old Whitebeard ship found me and took me in. I was originally supposed to go to the next island, but I hit it off real well with Marco, the only one that was near his age, and became their chef. I already hated the marines, so why not be a pirate?

"But _oh man _was I a shit cook. Everyone was just nice about it, but I got better with practice. And I hate wasting food because I know what it feels like to have no food, and it makes me mad when people waste it," Thatch finished. Though the topic was sad, he was smiling at the memories.

"...Doesn't thinking about that stuff make you sad?" Ace asked. Thatch shook his head.

"Though it's not pleasant to talk about as it brings back sad feelings, I wouldn't be who or where I am today if none of it happened," Thatch replied. The brothers didn't really have a response to that. Luffy couldn't see him ever thinking of the days in the facility as "good". The memories he had with his brothers were tainted by the fact they were holding both of them hostage, and all of the memories doing "jobs" and killing people were all not worth it and hurt to think about because Luffy had to face what he'd done and how stupid he'd been not to know it was a bad thing.

Thatch seemed to understand what Luffy was thinking and gave him a smile. "Give it ten years and you'll be content with what happened. You wouldn't have found your brothers unless you were sent on that job. You wouldn't have learned to control your devil fruit to protect your family if it weren't for that place. And you wouldn't have met Marco or been freed if you hadn't been sent to kidnap him," Thatch listed off, counting on his fingers.

"Someday you'll make piece with your past. Might not be anytime soon, but someday you will. Just like Marco has, just like the rest of the crew. We're all a bunch of misfits with varying degrees of bad and painful pasts. I can't tell you how many of your new brothers were slaves, or orphans, or criminals in their own town. Not many of us have had perfect lives and just got bored with it and joined a pirate crew," Thatch explained with a grin. The boys smiled at him, suddenly feeling more welcome.

Marco had mentioned before that the people on the crew were from harsh backgrounds, but he hadn't gone into detail like Thatch had. And Luffy had hope that maybe, some day he'd be happy all the time like Thatch was. He looked forward to it.

The day was much better than the previous. After a short session of Izo working on Luffy's tattoo, for the first time in many weeks, Luffy went to see Whiskey, with Ace and Sabo behind him. They hadn't told him they'd forgiven her, even if Ace couldn't forget. Sabo tried to move on, but Ace would never forget his brother's face when he was told he was an incurable psychopath.

"Luffy, me and Sabo want you to go see Whiskey about something," Ace said after breakfast. Luffy gave him a questioning look. "You know how you've been turning into a really small ball during nightmares recently?" Luffy nodded. "Well, we don't think that's healthy for you."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked in concern. Was something wrong with him?

The three were in Marco's Special Room, sitting on the couch with Luffy cross legged on the carpet after the tattoo removal.

"You used to only be able to turn into a smaller, cat sized version of your monster self, right?" Luffy nodded. "We're concerned with how small you're suddenly turning. When you wake up, you're very off and foggy. Maybe being so small is bad for you. Cutting off circulation or something. You're not used to becoming that tiny, y'know?" Sabo explained.

Lufy looked worried, not wanting to be hurt again. He agreed to go see Whiskey, wondering why now they wanted him to see her, but he said nothing, hoping they'd finally forgiven her. The three hurried to the infirmary, where pirates who were severely injured in the battle were having check ups or stitches removed.

They waited by the door, which was what you were supposed to do when all of the beds were filled. There were twenty beds in there, and all were full, which was something the three had not seen yet. When Whiskey was done with her patients, Wedny and Tami and some nurses that the boys hadn't formally met were still working.

"Boys, what can we do for you? Are you alright?" Whiskey asked, beckoning them to the bed a pirate was just on. The three sat down on the bed, Luffy's short legs not reaching the floor.

"We're concerned about Luffy. During his nightmares, he's shrunken into a ball that can fit in the palm of your hand," Sabo explained. "When he wakes up, he's dazed and confused and foggy. We're worried some circulation is being cut off or something." Whiskey was writing things down on a clip board.

"Luffy, what do you feel when you wake up?" Whiskey said, though it seemed kinder than usual. Luffy thought for a minute.

"Dizzy and foggy," Luffy replied honestly. Whiskey looked a bit worried for a second, but the look disappeared as quickly as it had come.

She asked him a few more questions, like if he knew how long he was in that form, or what he felt when his brothers woke him up. But, the end result wasn't what Luffy wanted to hear. "I think the best way to see if this is detrimental to his health is to observe him sleeping. The nurses will monitor you and you'll have connectors to your body to tell us your responses for any nightmares," the head nurse explained.

Luffy visibly deflated, not wanting to sleep in the infirmary ever again. "We'll stay with you, Lu," Sabo assured. He and Ace didn't want to stay in the infirmary either, but it was to help Luffy, or to reassure them that there was nothing wrong. Luffy nodded, determined to be brave, even if he really didn't want to do this.

"We should do it tonight. If it is unhealthy, we don't want you to continue to do it and harm yourself," Whiskey said. "We'll have the bed prepped when you come later tonight." The boys nodded, and got up to leave. "Thank you, for forgiving me," Whiskey added, sounding a bit awkward. Sabo smiled and the boys left, knowing that smile was all Whiskey needed to see.

The party was during the day, so that the boys wouldn't have trouble sleeping that night after the commanders heard about him being tested during his sleep due to a new sleeping habit. A few of them had been told, but it hadn't been anything big, so there was no commanders' meeting about it. Marco knew and Whitebeard knew, and that had been all that needed to. The pirates who weren't commanders still didn't know about Luffy destroying the room. And it was going to stay that way for awhile, the captain told them.

The party was not a typical Whitebeard party, which Marco told the boys included drinking and singing and eating a crap-ton of food. This one was playing games and eating sweets Thatch had made, along with a lot of meat and Sabo and Ace's favorite dishes. Luffy, frankly, disgusted everyone when he tried dipping a leg of chicken into a cup of melted chocolate.

The face he made had everyone around him laughing. He had the space of one person empty on either side of him for comfort in the large crowd of celebrating pirates. It was a good distraction from the worry about that night.

Ace and Sabo sparred against some pirates, and won a few, but mostly lost to them. Ace's fire fist move was the only one he had, and was dangerous until he could control it, so he mostly did hand to hand, landing hot punches and dodging fists or weapons unless they were using haki, which beat him instantly.

Luffy cheered for the boys, but they lost quite a bit. The commanders offered to spar with Luffy, but he declined, not wanting to risk hurting them or the ship. And they all respected his choice, not trying to convince him to do it and making him uncomfortable. It was a nice day to say the least.

By the end, the three were tired, but happy, and ate dinner enthusiastically. Luffy was already high on sugar, but was crashing quickly. It was only 8:00 when the boys went to bed. They got Luffy's stuffed animal before heading to the infirmary. They were surprised to see their area had been remodeled.

The bed was no longer white, crisp sheets. It had a comforter, and a quilt with three fluffy pillows for the boys. They even put a piece of cloth under the bed to make it look like a carpet. A lamp was on the side table, emitting a warm, yellow tinted color. Luffy was happy with the set up.

Tami and Whiskey were there, and Luffy cooperated as things were stuck to him. After Ace described what Luffy looked like in ball form, the nurses had gotten as tiny wires as they could, and glued them to Luffy's skin. It would wash off with water, and they were hoping they'd stay stuck to him even after he shrunk.

There were many wires attached to his head and into his hair, which was uncomfortable at first. He wasn't supposed to sleep under the covers, but a soft sheet. They couldn't have the wires risk falling off by having him under thick blankets, like his brother's were. The lights were turned off in their area. The curtains connected to the ceiling closed. Light still came into their space, but it was much dimmer than the other areas of the infirmary.

Luffy was being watched all night as he slept, and it was only an hour into the night that he transformed, shrinking, but the wires sunk into him, still able to send the machines information. His heartbeat quickened in the small form, but he didn't move.

His blood pressure skyrocketed, and immediately, the three were woken up out of worry for Luffy's health. Just by that small time, they'd learned what they needed to. This new form was dangerous for the youngest. "What? What happened?" Sabo asked sleepily.

"Luffy needs to take a bath before going back to sleep," Tami said quietly, not wanting to scare Luffy, who had just grown back to normal size, the wires slipping off of him and onto the comforter.

"Did something bad happen?" Ace asked in worry. He took Luffy's hand automatically.

"His heartbeat quickened to an unhealthy speed and his blood pressure skyrocketed into the dangerous zone. We need to go back to the nightly baths," Whiskey said with a sad look. Poor Luffy, plagued with health problems, but at least this one wasn't from their own crew. It wasn't from Teach, if was from the damn marines.

"Tonight?" Sabo asked. Tami nodded. "Okay, do we get to sleep in our room?" The nurse shook her head.

"It would be best to have him in here in case the bath doesn't work and he needs to be woken up again," Whiskey replied. Luffy looked and felt miserable, wishing all of his problems would go away. Wishing he could be comfortable in a crowd of people he now called his family. Wishing he didn't have to be a burden to his brothers or the crew.

Sabo ran his hand through Luffy's hair, careful to not pull on the wires glued to his head and risk hurting him by pulling his hair. "We'll use the bathroom here, if that's alright?" Tami nodded, saying it was for patients, after all.

The boys went into the bathroom with a single tub, big enough for the largest of the pirates. The moment Luffy was inside, he turned limp and was held up by Ace and Sabo. They didn't need to wash themselves, as it was late and none of them were dirty. Luffy crashed almost immediately, falling asleep still in the warm water.

His brothers dried him off and dressed their little brother before taking him back to that night's bed. One of the nurses stayed awake with them at all times, but Luffy slept fine, deeply, and did not use his powers at all, purposely or on accident. The bath trick seemed to be the smartest thing Whiskey had come up with.

-x-

Marco was sitting on Pops' shoulder, both watching Luffy train with his brothers, winning but also a bit slower than they were in his full form. Whitebeard was very happy, since Luffy had first called him Pops that morning. It had been hesitant, like he was unsure with the word, but when the captain grinned at it, the boy was much more confident to use the word, but only one more time. It was progress.

Ace and Sabo had not called him by that name, and Whitebeard had told them they didn't need to, even if it would make the captain very happy. No one was to try and convince them to say it, or it might have the opposite effect. Whitebeard could wait and wish, but not force.

When the News Coo dropped off the newspaper, a letter was also dropped, landing on Whitebeard's lap. They rarely got letters unless it was from family members checking up on someone on the ship. The handwriting on the envelope did not look familiar, but the names definitely did.

"_To: Ace and Sabo,_

_From: your "shitty" gramps"_

The two pirates had no idea who it was from, but were going to not open it without the boys, but were not going to let _them _open it when there might be something dangerous inside, like poison they could breathe in. Marco would be opening it since he couldn't get hurt if anything was inside.

"Ace, Sabo! Come here, please," the captain called, Marco jumping off of his shoulder and holding the letter Pops had handed to him. Luffy trotted along, too, back in human form.

"What is it?" Ace asked, sweaty from the sparring with his brothers and shipmates. Marco held up the letter and read who it was from. The boys' faces grew pale.

"I'm going to open it, but not read it, in case there is something dangerous inside," Marco explained. The boys nodded, Luffy looking curious since he didn't know anyone that would send him a letter, and knew it must be someone from before Luffy stole Ace and Sabo. When Marco opened it, there was nothing inside by the letter. He handed it to Sabo, who quickly pulled it out and unfolded it.

Sabo went to the railing with his brothers so no one would hear the letter, and read it to Ace and Luffy. No one was close enough, not even the captain, to hear what the letter said. They could only hope the boys would share it with them. Ace started swearing, Sabo grumbling, and they walked back over, Luffy looking sad that he was out of the loop.

"Will you share what it says to us?" Marco asked politely, non-intrusively. Sabo nodded, and took a breath before reading.

"_I hear you both got kidnapped by a kid, didn't I train you better? But, that is beside the point. I did not know about your imprisonment, or where you were, and if I did, I would have done my best to get you back home. I know the boys in that poorly-made Wanted poster were both of you, and Luffy, the monster who stole you. I'm sorry I did not find you sooner. Nobody knows that I am sending this letter, and I cannot risk coming to see you. I hope you are both doing well, and wish you to be careful with both marines and bounty hunters after all three of you. _

_Whitebeard is an honorable man, and until you are strong enough to make it on your own, the best thing you can do right now is to stay aboard his ship. I am truly sorry I did not find you sooner, and I am very glad you are both alive. _

_I can promise you that I did not know of yours or the kid's situation. It is hard for me to stand being around anyone that tried to hurt you, but I must. Best wishes, Garp/Shitty-Gramps."_

The pirates were shocked that Ace and Sabo's grandfather was Garp the Fist, but were glad he was not coming to steal them away, or at least, try. There was no way the boys would ever be handed to any of the marines, family or not. Luffy wondered what kind of guy their grandpa was, and what _was _a grandpa?

"What's a 'gramps'?" Luffy wondered.

"It's a slang word of 'grandpa'," Sabo replied, and guessed what the next question was. "A grandpa is the father of you mom or dad. You must have a grandpa somewhere in the world. Everyone has at least one."

"Is there a girl grandpa?"

"That's a 'grandma'. The mother of your mom or dad," Sabo replied patiently.

"Oh. Do you like your grandpa?" Luffy questioned. The older boys thought for a moment, exchanging glances, making the pirates wonder what the answer would be. Was Garp just as crazy as a grandpa as he was as a marine?

Ace responded, "Ehh, he's crazy. He 'trained' us by beating the crap out of us, kept insisting we become marines, and left us for years at a time. He was our adopted grandpa. He cares about us, but has a funny way of showing it."

"I can't say I'm surprised with any of that," Whitebeard said with a hearty laugh. "But, at least he's not gonna come storming onto our ship or throw cannonballs at us." Marco nodded in agreement. Garp may be a vice-admiral, and they'd just defeated multiple ones, but now that they knew he was the boys' grandfather, adopted or not, they couldn't kill or hurt him. Plus, Garp was extremely strong, though the pirates didn't know if old age had changed that. Going by Pops, probably not.

"Garp is crazy," Marco said simply, getting nods from the two older brothers. It also hinted that Ace and Sabo weren't blood related. Though, they could be. They just didn't look anything alike. "Hey, I have a question for you, Ace and Sabo. Are you two blood related?" Marco finally asked. He waited long enough, and hoped that they would answer him truthfully now that they were officially (for now) part of the family.

"No, we met when we were five. We lived together in the the crappy places in a dinky town that is probably gone by now. We stole everything to live and got away with it. It wasn't the best life, but we did get to do whatever we wanted. We only became brothers after Luffy found us. In name only, but that doesn't change the fact that we're brothers," Sabo said.

"I'll drink to that," Whitebeard said, and took a big gulp of his sake in that ridiculous bottle.

"But, you drink all the time," Luffy pointed out. Marco chuckled and Pops laughed loudly.

"You are very correct, Luffy," Marco said with an amused grin. Luffy smiled a soft smile, which made his brothers grin. "Even though we tell him every day to restrict his alcohol intake, he won't."

"I'm the captain, no one tells me what to do," Whitebeard said. "You may like to order me around, but I make the decisions around here." Marco shot him an unimpressed look.

"You're the captain, yet you're afraid of your own nurses?" Marco asked in a flat voice, though it was clear he was joking to the captain.

"As are everybody else," Pops replied. "To be honest, they're more in charge than I am!" the captain laughed. "Nobody orders me around but them, I suppose." Luffy looked confused.

"Why are you scared? They're nice to me," he pointed out, clearly wondering why anyone would think Wendy or Tami was scary. Whiskey seemed stern, but Luffy hadn't show much fear of her. "They've never been mean to me."

Marco smiled. "That's because you three have everyone wrapped around your fingers," he responded. Ace blushed and looked away, while Luffy smiled. Sabo was smiling at his brothers' reactions.

"So, when do you guys want to go back to your old room? The shipwrights will be able to get the necessary supplies to fix up the last part of the room. If you still want to stay in my attached room, that's fine. You three are honestly the quietest members of the crew. Everyone else snores like you wouldn't believe." He added something nice at the end in case the boys felt pressured to go back to the room after the question.

They exchanged a look, and Sabo spoke for them. "We'll go back to our room after it's fixed. But, can we leave the door open? Just in case something happens?" Marco nodded and said, "Of course."

That way, if Luffy had a nightmare that brought back the destructiveness instead of the cowardice, the boys could just run straight out the door to get help. But then, the hall would be damaged as well. Marco trusted Luffy to have moved past that, especially since the nightmares about Teach had been replaced by nightmares about marines.

Whiskey told them that morning that Luffy needed to do the baths again, and worried those she told when she said that turning into a tiny ball is unhealthy for him. Marco felt guilt about not waking him up when he found Luffy in that form. Whitebeard had scolded him for taking the blame when the blame was on no one but the marines.

"Would you three like to go on the island? We'll reach it tomorrow," Marco offered. The three all shook their heads immediately. "Not yet? Because of the marines?" They nodded in unison.

"We don't want to risk anything happening. Not now. Even though we're stronger and everything, not yet," Ace said for the other two. Luffy nodded in agreement.

Marco replied, "That's fine. Whenever you feel comfortable enough we'll have more than just one commander go with you. Though, it is strange that we've read nothing in the newspaper about the battle. If the marines were ever honest, they might not want to make it look bad that they tried to kidnap children, but they could also skew the truth by saying we kidnapped them and that they were trying to get you back to safety."

Pops agreed. "It is strange. Maybe they're embarrassed that some of their vice-admirals had been offed by pirates and a child. After all, they all knew Luffy, even in that form, is a child. As well as Ace and Sabo. And there's no way to mistake you for being older, especially Luffy, who looks younger than eight." He shrugged, and then added, "But I'm sure the marines will put out some false narrative about us sooner or later."

"They always do," Marco said with a sigh.


	28. The Tipping Point

**izzywolf22: Luffy isn't related to Garp in this one, and he doesn't reappear in the story. **

**RIAEVANS: You'er very welcome.**

**Big BIG climax in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!**

"Luffy, how big can you get?" Sabo asked in interest after taking a huge bite of his burger. "Have you ever tried bigger than on the ship when we first came?" Luffy shook his head and gulped down his own burger.

He responded with, "I've never tried bigger than that. There was no reason to. So, I don't know how big I can get." They were having dinner the night before they stopped on the next island. It was not a Whitebeard protected island, but one under Red Hair Shanks. Whitebeard had told the boys that they wouldn't be making an act of war by docking there and restocking. After all, Whitebeard and Shanks weren't enemies, but not friends either. So, the pirates docking there were only going to be attacked by the fellow emperor if they attacked any of the people on said island.

The boys were still not going to leave the ship, content to hang out by themselves or with anyone who wanted to play games while the rest were off on the island. Even Whitebeard was going off, saying he wanted off the ship after so long of not leaving. So, a few of the commanders would be staying on to keep the boys safe, not that they thought anyone would come after them on a protected island.

But, there were always idiots out there. The pirates would all be back on the ship by dinner, Thatch promising he'd bring some exotic food for the boys to try. Luffy looked forwards to eating food they'd never had before.

Marco told Luffy they'd be buying some art supplies and coloring books for him, and asked what kind he liked. "I like anything," Luffy said immediately, not wanting to ask for something that the store didn't have.

"You're allowed to have preferences, but if you actually don't have any favorites, we'll surprise you and pick them out ourselves. This is your welcome gift. What do you and Ace want?" Marco asked Sabo at the table.

The two older boys thought for a moment, not sure what they wanted. For so long it hadn't mattered that they were bored, or wishing to do something other than "play" with Luffy's toys. "I'd like some journals, so I can start writing in something instead of on scratch paper. Like, a nice journal that will last for a long time. Please," he added at the end.

"I want some stuff for training my devil fruit," Ace finally decided.

"Like what?" Marco asked, writing down these on a list of things they were to buy once they docked in the morning. Ace shrugged. "I dunno."

Marco thought for a moment, before offering, "We can do a target. For helping with practicing aim. If I find some other stuff suitable for mastering your power, we'll get that, too." Luffy asked if it was expensive to buy all those things for them. "Not really. Our crew has been around a long time, and has a lot of money to spend."

Ace and Sabo thought back to all that treasure they'd collected on their home island, and wondered if anyone had found it yet. Probably, but it had been in a good hiding place, inside a tree's trunk deep in the forest they lived next to. They wished they could have taken it with them, but all of it would have been confiscated, just like their clothes and shoes, once they were locked inside the facility.

"Thank you," Luffy said, bringing his brothers back to the present and out of their memories. "Yeah, thanks," Ace added, and Sabo bowed instead of saying anything, always the most polite.

That night, Luffy had no nightmares, and was unable to turn into the dangerous ball form due to the water. Ace kept watch, though, just to make sure. It was scary knowing that Luffy could be harming himself and his brothers didn't even notice. Sleeping was not comfortable after Luffy started having troubles again.

They hoped the baths would continue to help Luffy during the night, and he wouldn't become immune or dull to the effects it caused. Well, lack of effects, really. Sabo made sure to sleep with one part of his body touching Luffy so he would hopefully wake up if anything changed during the night. In case Ace fell asleep before they switched turns.

But, the freckled brother stayed awake half the night and woke Sabo up when it was time to switch, replacing his body with his own, holding Luffy's hand just in case. Luffy breathed slowly and surely, a sure sign he was having peaceful dreams or none at all. Nightmares tended to make him breathe faster, so that was how they had woken him up before they got too bad in the beginning.

The morning came, and Marco woke the three before he left the ship, telling them that he'd see them later and to not do anything reckless while they were gone. "No sparring allowed while we are gone," he told them somewhat sternly. Ace and Sabo pouted, as they'd been planning on doing that. Luffy didn't care much. He didn't enjoy the sparring and training as much as his brothers did.

Maybe because he didn't really need it as much, or the fact that he'd already learned all of these things and he didn't like to think of the people who taught him. Well, forced him to figure it out on his own and through the experience of jobs he was thrown into. But, he enjoyed watching Ace and Sabo's progress, looking forward for them to be equal to him on terms of skill and strength. They could _all _be helpful to the crew if needed, or if they wanted. If the boys were stronger, they'd be allowed to fight off pirate raids as well.

When the pirates left, leaving some commanders and many underlings who were to take care of the ship, Ace and Sabo sparred. They weren't suppsoed to, but neither was using anything they'd learned specifically. Just using punches and kicks, while Luffy watched or looked out at the sea.

He could see storms sometimes in the distance, but they never came too close and always disappeared quickly. The New World was strange, and he wondered how he didn't run into storms during his jobs. Maybe it was because he was, for some reason, always asleep on the way to where he was supposed to do something.

Luffy never remembered falling asleep when getting on the boats to take him to the target. And it was every time. It didn't click to him that he might have been drugged while on the journeys so that he didn't fly off the handle and kill anyone.

It was midday when Luffy saw something over the side of the ship. The pirates would be coming back in awhile, a few hours at least, so no one was really noticing the big things moving closer to the island. Luffy pointed it out to Ace and Sabo, who stopped sparring immediately.

"Should we tell someone?" Luffy asked. Ace shrugged it off, while Sabo looked troubled. "It might be sea kings. But, don't they stay away from islands? That's what Vista said."

Sabo decided, "Yeah, we should tell someone," and the boys left their area to find the pirates that were stations around the ship to make sure no one came aboard to take the kids. They hadn't forced the boys to stay inside, thinking that no one would attack their ship or even try.

"Haruta, there's something coming towards us," Sabo said once they went inside and found the commander in the communications room. To their surprise, Haruta jumped up and sprinted outside, telescope in hand. The boys followed quickly, wondering why he looked so panicked about being told that. It made the three uncomfortable. Haruta swore loudly when he looked over the side of the ship that had been blocked by the cabin, so no one had noticed it or wasn't paying close enough attention to the horizon.

Haruta sprinted inside, ignoring the three asking what was wrong, feeling afraid now. People started running out of the inside of the ship and looking over the side. Now, the boys were really nervous.

They went back to the back of the ship, where many pirates were gathered now, a bunch of them on transponder snails connected to the pirates who were on the island. The three pushed their way to the front, since everyone was so much taller than them.

What had been only a few indistinguishable spots on the horizon seemed to have doubled. Sabo counted there were ten. "What are they?" Luffy asked Tommy, a second division member. He ignored the boys, looking petrified. Luffy pat his leg to get his attention and asked what the problem was.

Immediately, he lost the scared look and put on a mask of calmness, even though the brothers knew it was fake and only to calm them. "We have to evacuate the ship, but it's nothing big. Why don't you hurry and get your stuffed animal, Luffy?" Tommy asked. The boys were speechless.

"Why do we have to evacuate?" Sabo asked in a toneless voice, eyes wide with fear. They had to leave? But wasn't this their home now? Didn't the pirates treasure their ship?

"It's nothing major. Just-" but Haruta cut him off.

"Don't lie to them, they aren't normal children!" The commander turned to the boys and told them to run off the ship as fast as they could, briefly explaining what a buster call was, and shoving them along.

Luffy wouldn't move. "But, isn't this home?" he asked in a small voice. Haruta looked pained.

"This is our home, but we're missing Pops, and he's told us to leave the ship for our own safety," Haruta explained, tears in his eyes at abandoning their home. The Moby Dick was irreplaceable. Sure, another ship could be made, but it would have no memories on it. And the boys didn't want to leave those memories, the only happy ones Luffy had ever had, despite the bumps in the road while they were on the ship.

"Can't we fight?" Ace demanded, not wanting to leave anyway.

"We can't fight against ten battle ships and five vice-admirals. Now, run!" Haruta demanded. Sabo took Ace and Luffy's hands and pulled them along, the only one thinking straight at the moment even if he was upset as well.

"C'mon! We have to evacuate!" he shouted at his brothers. "We'll have a new home after this!" he insisted. Ace started running, but Luffy didn't move, the soles of his bare feet sticking to the deck without meaning to. His powers were reacting to his emotions and all he could think was "home".

"LUFFY! LET'S GO!" When he didn't move, Haruta picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, trying to get him to unstick, but Luffy wasn't budging, as the stick was too strong and only stretched a few feet before it could go any further.

"Luffy, do you want to die?!" Haruta demanded, losing his patience and growing angry. Luffy finally reacted, but it wasn't to run away. He had to protect the ship. Immediately, he unstuck only to instantly absorb everyone on the ship, along with the ship, and walk along the docks as they cracked under his extreme weight, now twice the size of the ship.

His mind was on autopilot, and he thought of nothing other than protecting his family and home. And he made sure, even when not thinking clearly, to let those inside breathe, a thin air bubble around the ship so no one outside on deck would suffocate.

Just like Luffy had been too small to function fully in that tiny form, he was too big now to think clearly. He towered over the island, though he was not nearly big enough to engulf it. People ran screaming from him, but he stopped when he reached the treeline, and turned to face the ten ships that had stopped a small distance away. Anyone on the island or out at sea could see the huge, black _thing _dripping black substance as it stayed in one place. You couldn't tell Luffy was facing anything, as he had no distinguishable head.

It only took a few minutes before canon fire started, aimed at the huge target in front of them.

-x-

Whitebeard was shouting with his sons over the transponder snails as he and his sons sprinted towards where their home was docked, everyone but the commanders panicking. Sure, the commanders were freaking out, but they internalized it, needing to seem strong for their underlings. Whitebeard was scared, scared that his sons would be unable to evacuate and the ship would be destroyed while they were still on it.

He really began to panic when the line was cut off, and soon cannon fire started. "Shit!" Marco shouted when they got clear of the buildings and all of them could see the huge form that was the eight year old child they'd just adopted.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HE _THINKING?!" _Marco raved before flying off and towards Luffy to try and get him to change back and flee, as he was a huge target now. When he reached Luffy, he realized just how big he'd gotten. And he couldn't make out any sort of face, but flew in front of him to try and get the boy to shrink and flee, leaving the ship-

When Marco looked at the dock, the Moby Dick was gone, all of the other ships and the docks cracked or destroyed completely. Luffy had absorbed the ship and everyone on it. It was the only way to protect the ship and those on it now that cannon fire had begun.

Marco's job now was to guard Luffy and those he had saved, the phoenix hoping that they could all breathe in there. Nobody else was like Marco and could survive being suffocated.

Marco tried to stop the cannons from hitting Luffy, but he couldn't be everywhere at once, and he knew Pops was stuck behind Luffy, before running around the side and trying to get in front. The cannons hit the boy monster and didn't explode. They stuck to him, becoming just big hunks of rock. Every fire on him did little to no damage. At least, that anyone outside could see. He continued to face the sea, and didn't move an inch, despite being hit by almost every cannon. They stuck completely, not even dripping off.

Marco flew towards the ships, determined to destroy them as best as he could, since the captain was not a long distance fighter. And though Marco was strong, he couldn't safely fly the captain to the ships to destroy them. He couldn't bring anyone with him.

There was a snapping sound behind him, and he just barely dodged a huge spike hurtling past him and stabbing into the ship before becoming sticky again. Marco had no idea what Luffy was planning, as his movements were slower than usual due to his current size.

The ship easily was pulled to the island, where it collided with Luffy's body and crumpled into a mess of wood and dead bodies. Shouting or floating marines were in the water when they'd been dropped by the ship as it had turned on its side before flying back to Luffy's body.

Marco stayed focused on destroying the cannons, breaking them apart. At least, the small ones. The ships had come prepared, with the largest cannons being made of sea stone. He also stayed focused on keeping track of which ship Luffy was attacking. Thank goodness he could fly, or he'd be drowning right now as ships he was on were attacked by Luffy.

He either couldn't see Marco flying around, or he didn't care at the moment. Surely, his mind wouldn't be in normal shape while that big. But, he seemed to be able to listen to the captain, which Marco could see yelling, when he briefly turned to check on Luffy's attacks, which continued to come.

When a solid stick came, Marco saw Whitebeard running along it, bisento out. Marco would heal if he was struck by a tremor, but it would be painful anyways. He kept marine fodder away from Whitebeard as he destroyed the ships, Luffy not active for now as he kept solid, even though Pops was no longer on it. One of his massive arms was what was connected to the ship for Whitebeard, his other arm smaller than the back legs, which were holding his whole weight.

Sea stone was only coated on the bottoms of the ships, so Whitebeard destroyed the foundations and decks of the ships, jumping from one to the other. Marco worked with him flawlessly, taking out the fodder, still, while the captain _furiously _dealt with the higher ups.

Assuming this was a buster call, it was different as they had sent no vice-admirals. Maybe they learned their lesson from the last time. They couldn't help but think this was quite late. The battle had happened over a week ago, and it wasn't as if the Whitebeard ship was hard to find. _And_ Luffy was valuable to them, yet they send this on them, knowing the kid was with them?

Whitebeard seemed to be having the same thought. "I think it was some idiot who ordered this," he said, not breathless in the least. He would be sleeping a lot after this, but now he was not the old man he seemed to be. He was a monster, destroying ships as Luffy messily slammed them into himself with his front leg that had been still. He was too clumsy and slow to do anything other than stretch out and then snap it back in place.

Both captain and first mate were worried about what would happen once Luffy went back to normal. At this size, would he be unable to understand what they were saying? They tried to focus only on the threat in front of them. Six ships down, and the other ones started aiming at the two pirates taking out the weakling marines and the ones that were higher up but still no match for Whitebeard or Marco.

Maybe they thought they would be safe at a distance, but definitely weren't counting on Luffy. Without his assistance, Whitebeard would have never made direct contact with the ships. Marco dodged sea stone cannon balls as Whitebeard cut them apart with his bisento, exploding on the ruined ships behind them.

It was a bit of an insult to Whitebeard to have no one worth fighting come after them. Did the marines think so little of their crew? They assumed that distance would work, but had no back up in place if that turned out to be wrong? Fools.

It took only a few minutes to slice up the ships with his bisento, or to shatter them to bits with his power. Anyone other than Marco would be injured fighting alongside the strongest man in the world. They were a great team.

Marco made sure no one would survive, and after the last ship was damaged beyond repair, he went after those in the water, killing them with his talons into their necks or backs, whatever was exposed. Now, not only was there tons of debris in the water, but blood and dead bodies.

Suddenly, both of them were caught in the sticky black wrapped around their bodies as they were snapped back to the island, making both of them incredibly sick with motion sickness at the speed of it. They were seasoned sailors, but even for them, this was too much.

Though Luffy was coherent enough to be able to help them out, pirates were trying to talk to him, trying to have him let out those he was hiding, but the monster didn't respond to anything or anyone, staying put, the cannon balls still stuck to his body.

Whitebeard rarely encountered any living thing bigger than him, but Luffy was at least four times as tall as he was and the size comparison was pointless. After all, Luffy was big enough to fit the entire Moby Dick inside.

"Luffy! The fight is over! Let the ship go!" Whitebeard called. Luffy made no response. Marco flew up to where he assumed Luffy's head was supposed to be, and tried convincing him to change back to normal form. They all got out of his way as he walked into the water, making the black substance leak off of him and into the water, making it seem almost like it was full of oil. Once he was deep enough, the ship was released, and made a huge splash, landing partly on submerged ships.

The rest of Luffy disintegrated and the child fell from the top and tumbled towards the water, unconscious. Marco caught him just in time. Everyone ran back onto the ship, checking if any of them were hurt by being trapped inside Luffy. Those who were aboard when Luffy lost control and absorbed everything looked shaken, Ace and Sabo with tears in their eyes in worry about Luffy.

Marco set Luffy down in their arms. It looked like Luffy had scars everywhere, reddish white lines on almost every part of his body. Like he got too big too suddenly and was now covered in stretch marks of some sort. At least he wasn't deformed. Everyone hurried him into the infirmary. The ship and those who had been out on deck, were covered in the saliva. It soaked every inch of the deck like it had rained. Whitebeard was checking to make sure everyone was alright, though most were very shaken to be in absolute pitch darkness so suddenly. Thank goodness there was air for them to breathe while in there.

Many of the pirates who had been aboard were crying. After all, they were ordered to abandon their home. Marco and Thatch went inside with the three kids, while Whitebeard asked what had happened. Haruta came forward, tears and saliva running down his face, hair matted down.

"I was getting everyone evacuated, but Luffy refused to leave. I think he was in shock. I tried to forcibly evacuate him, but it was too sudden to even know what had happened before we were all in the dark. It took a few seconds for anyone to realize was had happened. I think Ace and Sabo thought Luffy was going to die from being that big, as they said he could be hurt when he was too small." Whitebeard hugged his son, not caring about the saliva.

"It's thanks to them that anyone noticed the ships before they started firing," Haruta added. "Why do they always have to protect us? Why can't we protect them for once? There was those bad guys on the island that Luffy took care of before Izo could do anything, then the whole thing with Smoker in the forest, they helped out. Then the fight with the vice-admirals only turned in our favor when Luffy came out, and now this," he lamented.

Whitebeard agreed. "It's shameful. But, we did save them in the first place. I know it means little in the scope of things, but at least we helped them when they couldn't help themselves. Let's get away from the island before anything else happens and the citizens are caught in it.

"I also need to make a call to Shanks and explain what happened, as someone has no doubt called for help. Well, none of the island but the docks were injured, thanks to Luffy. I think the brat will be understanding with the situation," Whitebeard explained.


	29. Grave Repercussions

**fa6imah.2000: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!**

**RIAEVANS: Thanks.**

**izzywolf22: No problem!**

**Finished my longest fic so far ever. 201,000 words. 537 pages to edit. So it won't be coming out for quite some time most likely. Statred posting my first posted crossover. Second ever written but the first isn't finished. This chapter and the rest of the story are heavy (HEAVY) with angst. Enjoy~**

Three days later, and Luffy was still unconscious. And they all knew it was not just from being in the water, since that only lasted half the night, and it had been three days since then. Ace and Sabo barely slept, and when they did it wasn't a good rest. People came in and out of the infirmary to check on him. He was unresponsive to anything, and his power had stopped working correctly, so he had IVs in giving him water and nutrients. That worried everyone, his power not working how it was supposed to.

There had been no mention of the buster call in any of the newspapers they were given. There was, however, a new Wanted poster for Luffy, only this one was even more useless as it was only a photo of is monster form, not what he usually looked like. It had jumped to 300,000,000 berries, and was now "dead" instead of the usual "dead or alive". The pirates assumed the government didn't want him anymore, since he was now totally uncontrollable and very dangerous.

It was 2:00 in the morning when Luffy's machines started to beep. Ace and Sabo woke from their dozing immediately, shouting for Tami or Whiskey or any of the nurses to come over. Luffy made a tiny movement, just an almost unnoticeable move of his head to one side.

His powers suddenly started working again and tried to absorb the needles in him before the nurses were able to extract them with only a little stick that weakened quickly. "Lu?" Sabo whispered. Luffy's eyes scrunched a little bit and he opened them. It was dark in the room since it was the middle of the night, and Whiskey turned on the light in the office so that the room was lit up enough to see but not enough to hurt Luffy's head in case his eyes were sensitive.

"Welcome back, Luffy," Tami said, making the head of the bed prop up enough that Luffy could get a sip of water without pouring it all over himself. The marks on his body had faded significantly over the three days, but they were still visible and in most areas, even on his face, visible through the more faded tattoo. The more covered areas were his arms and legs. Ace and Sabo were doing their best not to cry, not wanting to worry Luffy.

Luffy drank the water with long gulps, clearly with a dry mouth. "Luffy, what do you remember last?" Ace asked quietly, almost in a hush, worried any louder would scare or hurt Luffy's head. No one knew how he was feeling since nothing like this had ever happened to anyone else.

Luffy licked his chapped lips and said, "We had to evacuate, I didn't want to. What happened?" he asked, his throat scratchy. Sabo moved a lock of hair out of his baby brother's face. He looked exhausted despite the fact he'd been asleep for over three days.

Ace didn't hesitate to tell the truth. "You swallowed the entire ship and everyone on it. Including us." Luffy looked shocked for a second before he settled back into the bed.

"Everyone is okay?" the boy asked in concern, though sleep was in his voice still. He'd be asleep again in a few minutes. Best to make the best of what time they had. Sabo and Ace nodded. "I don't remember anything… Is Haruta mad at me?"

Ace and Sabo understood. "No, Haruta is not mad at you. While you were in that form, at least four times taller than Whitebeard, you fought alongside an emperor. We didn't see it, but heard that it was really impressive," Ace explained with a smile.

"I never wanna do that again," Luffy mumbled. Before he could fall back asleep, he was asked how he felt by Tami. All he felt was tired everywhere, and he fell back asleep in the middle of Tami's next question. No one woke him again. He was alive and not quite well, but not dying or in pain either. Only tired.

Whiskey left the room to tell the good news to the captain, even if it was 2:00 in the morning. She knocked on his bedroom door, deciding not to wake the other commanders, since Luffy was asleep again. There was a minute of delay before Whitebeard welcomed her into the room.

When the man saw who it was, he was awake in an instant, thinking the worse, unable to help himself when one of his sons were hurt. Plus, no one knew what to expect with Luffy's newest situation.

"Don't panic, Pops. Luffy woke up. He's back asleep, but isn't in pain. His devil fruit also started up again," Whiskey said quietly, not wanting to wake the other commanders. Whitebeard let out a sigh he'd probably been holding for three days. He put his face in his hand. Whiskey hadn't seen him this exhausted in awhile.

"That's good to hear," he said, wearing a real smile, not the fabricated one he'd been touting the last couple of days. "Did you tell him what happened?"

Whiskey nodded. "Briefly, as he was clearly going to fall back asleep any second. He asked if Haruta was mad at him, since he wasn't evacuating the ship when commander Haruta ordered him to. I'm assuming you won't punish him for disobeying that order?"

"Of course not. You can't punish your son for saving his home and family," the captain said with a grin. Whiskey chuckled quietly, fondly. "I won't wake the other commanders, they need the sleep. Nobody has been feeling very well, so hopefully the news of his recovery will lighten the atmosphere."

Whiskey turned strict, and Whitebeard wondered if he'd said something wrong. "Don't assume there will be no lasting effects after this. The marks around his body have still not left, and we don't know if his body is functioning right until we can get him to stand up and walk. That stunt may leave him with lasting damage, I don't want you to convince yourself or anyone else that he will be perfectly fine after the whole thing," the nurse explained with a crisp voice.

Whitebeard nodded, not liking what he was hearing but knowing it was the truth and that Whiskey was right. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. "Thank you, daughter. Tell me if he wakes again."

"Will do," the nurse said, and walked back to the infirmary to see the lights were off again, and Tami told her that all three were asleep on the single bed. "Keep monitoring him. Switch out with Wendy if necessary. He's still in critical condition and we don't know if there is lasting damage."

"Right," Tami replied quietly. They didn't want to wake the three.

-x-

Luffy woke up halfway through the next day, stomach rumbling. He felt so tired everywhere, but didn't hurt. He was afraid of what might happen now. He already had enough mental problems, he didn't need physical as well. Ace ran from the room to get food, demanding soup from Thatch angrily. He didn't know why Ace seemed angry at him, but made the soup and brought to to the infirmary, where Luffy was the only patient.

Sabo was holding a water bottle to Luffy's lips, since he said his arms were tired and sore. Feeling heavy. When Thatch came into the room, tears sprung into his eyes. He never voiced it, but was afraid Luffy would never wake up. The cook brought the soup over, blinking quickly so his tears dried. He didn't want anyone to see him crying, especially Luffy.

He set the bowl of soup on the end table, and was about to hand Luffy the spoon when Ace snatched it out of his hand and gave it to Luffy. It was clear that Ace was very nervous, and to cope with it was snappy and rude. Thatch didn't take it personally; everyone reacted to stress differently. It was just good he wasn't catching fire.

Sabo took it, asking if Luffy could feed himself. Luffy tried to lift his arm to take the spoon, but was unable to. They all assumed they were sore from the stretching they'd done while fighting with Whitebeard.

"If you want seconds, Ace can come and get them," Thatch said, helping the older boy. The cook had a feeling Ace wanted to make himself useful, when both he and Sabo had been unable to do anything to help Luffy when he was out, and when he consumed the ship and themselves included.

"Okay…" Luffy mumbled. Sabo cooled the soup by blowing on it and laying some blankets down over his chest so the soup wouldn't burn him if it spilled. He was keeping his smile on while Ace's expression was pinched with worry.

After Luffy was done eating, not able to handle seconds even if the soup was delicious, Thatch took the empty bowl and silverware, and left. "Tami, am I gonna be okay?" Luffy asked suddenly, eyes wide but also hazy with sleep. He was still very tired, and his body was healing itself with rest where his devil fruit was unable to.

"Well, we're gonna run some tests once you're feeling up to it. We're not gonna jump the gun and go all out on your tests. You're recovering, but slowly." She didn't tell him that he might _not _be okay, but didn't give the youngest false hope. If he thought he was going to be fine and then wasn't, it would be worse.

Luffy nodded, and Sabo gently told him to go to sleep if he felt like he needed to. "But what about the tests?" he asked.

"We want you to be at your best when we do the tests so we can accurately see if there will be any possible complications. We don't want you to be forcing yourself to stay awake. Many injuries take a lot of rest to heal, and you can do that treatment by yourself."

Luffy leaned back in the bed, frowning softly, eyes distant. "Ace, Sabo, I don't wanna be hurt anymore," he said in a broken voice. Neither had the heart to convince him he'd be fine. He fell asleep before they could say anything, anyways.

Whiskey and Tami had never heard the words before on this ship. Those who were sick put on an act that they were fine, or at least thought they were going to be fine. Even those patients they had that were bleeding out and certain to die, they never sounded so broken and helpless as Luffy had.

The two were caught off guard by it and had to look away to not let the brothers see their tears of sympathy and pity. Ace and Sabo looked like they'd had their hearts ripped out. The nurses and Cureil were sure that Luffy was not going to die, but they hadn't said that because it would be worse to say something like that and be wrong than to not say it and have their instincts be correct.

If Luffy was going to die from the strain of ballooning into that behemoth in what some pirates said was less than a second, he would have already. Either right at the start or right at the end. They could only wait for Luffy to be awake enough for them to do extensive testing. They'd taken his blood already while his powers had been inactive, but nothing was amiss. So, they had to test how his body functioned. How he walked, how he moved, is senses, cognitive testing to see if anything was wrong with his brain.

The captain had ordered these tests before the nurses alerted him that they would. Whitebeard had felt useless the days following the attack. His sons would have been dead and him unable to reach the ships, leaving only Marco to fight, and having his ship stuck and a big target to hit easily. The Moby would be gone, many of his sons would be dead.

He was ashamed that the only way they had won was by using an eight year old who was hurting himself while doing all of that. He wanted to know the extent of the damage, but no one knew yet, and it upset him. The captain didn't want to lose a son he'd only just adopted.

Marco was feeling similarly ashamed, as he wasn't fast enough to stop Luffy to pull him off of the ship to evacuate as Haruta had tried and failed to do. If he had just gotten there sooner. He couldn't decide on whether this was a better outcome than if he hadn't. Deep down, he knew it was, but knowing that made him feel like a garbage human being.

Luffy seemed to be a magnet of problems and things going wrong. Marco didn't need to list them to know they were a lot. Marco had felt _he _was a magnet for a long time, but after he became a well known pirate, he assumed all of the bad things that happened to him were because he was a pirate. It was a weight off of his shoulders. Luffy's accidents or misfortunes always had to do with _him _alone. People were after him, people were trying to kill him because it was _him. _

Marco was alerted after the captain on the fifth day when Luffy woke up and was coherent enough to hold long conversations. The two men, and Thatch and Haruta who came uninvited, went in the infirmary to see Luffy was awake and talking to his brothers, no longer incredibly sleepy or out of it. But, his body looked limp and exhausted.

Sabo was brushing Luffy's bedhead with Whiskey's hairbrush, who'd let him borrow it. Ace was talking with Luffy about pointless things. About the sea kings they'd seen while they were gone, the storms they'd gone through, the pirates they'd defeated after they stupidly tried to raid the ship.

"Hey, Luffy. Long time no see," Marco said with a genuine smile and a little too cheery voice. Luffy smiled a thin smile, a facade. Marco could see Luffy was upset under his smile. After all, he was back in the infirmary, his second bedroom. "How are you feeling?"

"Not so tired anymore. Kinda sore everywhere but its not that bad. A little hard to move," the boy said. Marco had something in his pockets, and he pulled it out to show Luffy.

"We bought you a ton of coloring books before we heard about the buster call. Here's a smaller more compact one, and some crayons to color with," Marco explained. Luffy looked so excited to have coloring books again, and it made the phoenix wish they had restocked on those sooner. "We also got Sabo his journals, four of them, nice and leather bound. Ace got some target boards that are fire proof. So, the island wasn't all horrible. Just the end," the first mate finished. He set the presents down on the table next to Luffy's usual hospital bed.

"I'll use them once my tests are over," and it felt good for everyone in the room to see how happy Luffy was, even if it would probably not last long. Marco saw Whiskey watched, a clipboard in her hand, but she walked back to the office, giving Luffy some time to be happy before doing the tests.

Tami brought over a tray usually made for eating, but was for Luffy to color in his new coloring book. They got him tons of colors of crayons, and thought his hands were a bit on the shaky side, he colored alright inside the lines. His arms stayed stationary on the tray while his hands and wrists did all the work on the small page. Marco hadn't seen a kid color with coloring books before, so he didn't know that tey didn't really pay any attention to colors that would look realistic. It was a book with scenery, and Luffy colored the grass purple and the sky orange.

Ace and Sabo made small talk, trying to keep the atmosphere light and cheery. Luffy was completely distracted from the coloring book and didn't notice Marco left to go tell the captain that he was awake and ready to be seen, not delirious anymore and in a relatively good mood considering he was in the infirmary once again.

Pops was out on deck, trying to look cheery but had slight circles under his eyes. They were almost unnoticeable. After sending the sons who'd died in the battle to the after life respectfully, having the boys join had helped him move on. He still hurt for his sons, but he now had good distractions. But, now he had another one of his sons hurt because he wasn't strong or fast enough to protect his ship and those on it.

Even if he'd made it there before Luffy transformed, he would have been unable to stop the buster call, vice-admirals not aboard or otherwise. The island and crew would have been ruined. Whitebeard wondered if Shanks and his allied crews would go after the marines for trying to ruin and island under their jurisdiction or if he knew they were only targeting the Whitebeards and would not go after the marines for it.

The man was furious when he was told about the situation in full. Shanks had had a cold voice, and had told Whitebeard to leave his island and he was heading over to check on them and help with any damage that might have happened. Shanks specifically thanked the boy, Luffy, for creating a wall to protect the island, even if that wasn't his intention.

When he entered the infirmary, Luffy was captivated by the coloring book that the crew had gotten him. One of the forty of them. Once he was recovered, he would be so happy to see that massive stack and huge collection of art supplies. It had been cheap in the long run, nowhere near as expensive as food and water was.

"Hi, Pops," Luffy said, lighting up Whitebeard's face. He didn't close the coloring book but released the crayon out of his hand. Ace and Sabo didn't say anything but nodded.

"Hey, Luffy. How are you feeling?" Whitebeard asked, though he couldn't sit on any of the beds due to his size and weight.

"Okay, i guess. My legs and arms are tired and hard to walk, but I'm happy about the coloring book," he replied honestly. Whitebeard smiled, but decided to keep the amount there was a secret, making it a nice surprise when he was out of the infirmary.

Whitebeard asked, "It it only your arms and legs that feel different?" He hoped the answer was yes. Luffy thought for a moment, as if assessing his own body.

"My stomach feels hungry a lot, even after I eat," he said. Whitebeard laughed at this, and the boys wondered why he thought it was funny.

"Maybe after eating something as big as the Moby Dick, it's making you crave more to fill up on," he joked, though everyone knew that probably wasn't accurate. He was trying to make the atmosphere of the room brighter and less heavy.

Luffy closed his coloring book, which Whitebeard saw was one of scenery and nature settings.

"I'm tired and keep falling asleep," he added. "But that's it. So far." Whitebeard nodded, so glad that Luffy wasn't in pain like he had been for the alcohol burn. He thought that Luffy would never be burned by any of the crew again, as they had spent hundreds of berries on over a thousand sealable caps to put on bottles. The liquid would only come out if they bit on the cap to drink, so there was no risk of spilling. They bought smaller bottles instead of kegs just for that reason.

"That is very good to hear, son," the captain said sincerely. He didn't add that everyone was worried about him because it might make the opposite effect than what most might feel. Luffy might feel guilty for scaring everyone and making them worry. Whitebeard was an old man and was skilled at walking on eggshells with some of his sons.

Sabo then had a question, and asked, "Has there been anything in the newspaper about the buster call?"

"No, there has not. Since it was an utter failure, there was nothing about it besides a new bounty for Luffy, though it's quite useless if I say myself. It is a photo of Luffy in that huge form, which he won't do again." He turned to Luffy quite seriously. "I don't want you to ever grow that big again. It is not worth it to have you be ill from it. But, no one is mad at you for doing it, just concerned. But we don't want you to do that again."

Luffy looked down. "I didn't mean to, I didn't even know I could get that big. It just happened, and I don't remember anything after being afraid and then waking up with Ace and Sabo," Luffy explained. Whitebeard wasn't surprised that he couldn't remember it. He'd had a feeling it would be that way.

"Everyone said it was amazing, though. And no one is mad, so that's good, right?" Ace offered in a kind voice. Luffy nodded.

"Even though you helped us out to destroy the battle ships, we don't want you to do that again. If there's ever another emergency like that, I want you to follow the orders of myself or our commanders," the captain said in stern but not unkind voice. The youngest nodded, swearing he would listen, and was sorry he didn't do what Haruta said to do. Whitebeard slowly reached is hand out and put it on Luffy's head.

"Haruta is not angry, and nobody else is," he promised. Luffy nodded, not scared of Whitebeard's touch one bit. "Now, why don't you get back to coloring while I talk to the nurses?" he said, turning Luffy back to his coloring with Ace and Sabo straining to hear the conversation.

"How is he, daughters?" Whitebeard asked Tami and Whiskey. "I will not spread anything that you wish me not to." They exchanged glances before replying.

Whiskey started, "He slept for most of the time he was here, and that did quite a lot for him. When he first came, his blood pressure and heart rate were abnormal, worrying us, but he eventually got better. We didn't give him pills or injections like we would others, due to his different blood.

"The marks on his body don't seem to be going away, so there is a chance they will be permanent. They almost seem like some sort of stretch marks. They are everywhere, as Sabo and Ace told me after a sponge bath. His legs and arms are exhausted, and he had a lot of trouble walking to the bathroom once he was awake.

"I assume he'll need physical therapy to walk again, and he can't lift his arms very high. He was unable to hug his brothers back at a reasonable pace, and they were shaking the higher they lifted. So, his arms may need treatment as well.

"While his fruit was inactive, we were able to get blood samples, and there was no change. He is able to talk now, and seems to be able to think straight, so we're leaning towards thinking he doesn't not have brain damage.

"Since we weren't there to see what happened, as we were inside, we needed Marco to tell us what had happened in full. Apparently, he was unable to process words in that form, right? He didn't respond unless he did something he wanted. Returning the ship to the water shows that some of his brain was functioning that wasn't more primal, but he might have shut off part of his mind accidentally when in that form.

"If the black stretched out of his body so quickly, those marks are more likely to be stretch marks, like when people gain or lose weight rapidly, stretch marks are more often than not there afterwards," the head nurse finished. Whitebeard took it all in with both concern and relief.

"And there is no chance he is going to die from this?" the man asked in a hush. Tami replied, "We don't not think so, as of now. He seems to be in the clear."

Whitebeard let out a sigh, so relieved that Luffy would live, even if he needed physical therapy to recover. He wasn't surprised that Luffy would have stretch marks after the way the nurses described the rapid growth and then shrink. "If there is any change, let me know. Thank you, daughters." Tami and Whiskey smiled.

-x-

"Alright, I want you to walk as surely as you can. Ace and Sabo will be next to you, so don't worry about falling," Whiskey said, holding a clipboard. There was a tape measure taped to the floor, spanning the entire infirmary. Luffy starting at one end and was going to be trying to walk to the other. The boy nodded, afraid of how bad he would do, and knew everyone knew he wouldn't do well.

The first step was sure, the second and third ones wobbling, and the fourth one caused his knees to buckle, and Ace and Sabo caught him gently. Luffy swore quietly. "Let me try again," he said determinedly.

Tami and Whiskey both nodded. "Two more tries and we'll do the next test." Luffy tried again, but only made three steps this time. When Ace and Sabo helped him walk, he moved alright. It wasn't that he couldn't move his legs, he just couldn't put any pressure or weight on them.

"Okay, next test. This one will be more difficult, so we'll take a five minute break in between each test."

Five minutes wasn't long enough, but Luffy wasn't going to complain. "Alright, we want you to jump as high as you can. Ace and Sabo will again be there to help you." Luffy nodded, though he wasn't looking forward to it. He jumped once, and was able to get one inch off the ground before Ace and Sabo caught him as he was unable to support his own weight to land. Tami wrote something down on her ever-present clipboard. The nurses scrapped some of the tests that the boys could tell by crossing them off, though they didn't see what the tests had been.

The next one, Luffy was sitting on the bed, legs hanging over the side. They didn't _hurt _but were a bit sore. No more than they had been before the tests, though, which was a good sign. Whiskey told him to lift his legs up as high as he could, and as slowly as he could. The boy was unable to lift them up to waist height, but was able to lift them up fairly high.

Ace and Sabo had a feeling the only thing wrong with Luffy's legs were his ability to not support his own weight. He hadn't screamed out in pain when he jumped, so that was a good sign, right? The next test was to bring his legs up into a cross legged position. It was difficult at first, but he got them up. It was a loose one, not as compact as usual, but it was a good sign.

The nurses shared their findings with the boy. "We've x-rayed your legs while you were asleep, and found no broken bones. So, your legs are not what the problem is as far as we can tell. No fractures, fissures or broken bones. Whiskey has different things written on her board."

The head nurse sure did have different findings. "I know it's speculation, but we've been right about everything so far. Your power was not working while you were unconscious. Since you're a logia, even if it is a warped one, your body had been used to being made out of it. So, when your powers came back, your body was already partly used to them not being there. While they get back to normal, you may have problems with your body's bone and muscle structures, which goes for your arms as well. I could be wrong, but this is what my gut is telling me," Whiskey explained.

The boys trusted her words, since she'd been right most times so far. "We will bring Amy in here to ask her if she knows of anything tomorrow. Now, we're going to test your arms." Whiskey flipped the page over and started on a blank one. "Lift your arms as high as they can go without hurting yourself if it does."

He lifted his arms to chest height, unable to go any further as his arms were shaking and sweat was forming. They finally fell, but Ace and Sabo caught them so they didn't slam into his lap. After another break, Luffy was told to bend his arms up like he was doing a curl with a weight. Luffy wasn't sure what that was, so Ace showed him. Luffy was able to do it twice before his arms couldn't take it anymore.

One five minute rest later, he was to shrug his shoulders, which was fine. "Now, lift them up from your sides." Luffy couldn't do that very well, and didn't make them to chest level, only where his hands were at the level of his belly button.

"Alright, I'd like to do some x-rays to compare those of when your fruit was dormant, and now that they seem to be back," Whiskey said after she praised Luffy for doing the exercises despite that they were difficult.

Ace carried him to the room with the x-ray equipment, and laid Luffy down. He had a full body x-ray, like he'd had before. It only took a couple minutes, and Luffy was brought back to the bed. Whiskey stayed in the office for awhile, Tami eventually going in as well. Luffy's morale was down, feeling useless and utterly weak.

"There's always something wrong with me," he sighed. Ace and Sabo couldn't argue, because that was the truth.

"They all get better, right?" Sabo offered, though it was a weak response. Luffy didn't reply, just pursed his lips. It didn't feel like he got better, just that one problem replaced another. Ace tried to convince Luffy to start on his coloring book again, which was now one of butterflies since he'd already done the previous one. The three were told it'd be a surprise with how many books they got for Luffy.

After what felt like too long, the nurses came back, wheeling a big screen over with pictures of Luffy's limbs and full body on them. The first ones that Whiskey pointed to were before, when Luffy was asleep. The bones all looked fine, and the nurse pointed this out. Then, she put up the photos taken that day.

The bones were covered in black. The substance was also at the edges of Luffy's skin. It looked strange. "Since we've gotten no new information that is useful for now, we'll have to go on my theory. I'm going to have you start physical therapy, where you methodically practice moving until you get well enough to walk on your own. Then, you'll do little exercises to help strengthen your injured areas.

"People with broken bones go through physical therapy, as well as people with damage to their brain that messes up their balance. There is a room through the medicine storage for physical therapy we will use. It needs thorough dusting, since no one has used it in awhile," the head nurse finished.

"How long will that take?" Sabo wondered. He knew what it was, but he'd never needed it and neither had anybody he'd known.

"I can't tell. Only time and improvement will give a rough estimate. Usually, I'd be able to give a prediction on how long it will take, but this case and Luffy's body are different. I want him to have a wheelchair for going through the ship long distances. We have one just small enough for Ace or Sabo, but not for Luffy. The shipwrights will know how to make one. They can mold metal into the correct shapes and dimensions.

"We'll make sure they get that done asap."

Luffy nodded, but had to have the concept of a wheelchair explained to him. He was bummed he couldn't play any games. Wendy had told him not to to get better. Daily exercise and having fun. He guessed he'd be going back to playing cards.


	30. Useless

**phoenix: It only gets worse mwahaha,**

Whitebeard sat on his bed as the nurses came in, along with Amy, to stand inside, door closed behind them, only the higher ups, including the nurses, were ever allowed in the room (besides once with the three youngest of his sons).

"We did the tests and Whiskey came up with another theory," Tami said, getting right to the point. Whiskey looked at her clipboard and started from the top, reading all of the results and findings while testing Luffy's mobility for his limbs. The captain didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

"I believe it has something to do with his devil fruit. Amy agrees with that, since she's been around a logia before. One that had sea stone in her body from shrapnel, and once it was removed, she had trouble walking again. Luffy didn't have any sea stone inside of him and it wouldn't work anyway, but its the same as the other logia, whose body was not used to the power after being off for awhile."

"How long did it take for her to get better?" Whitebeard questioned, never knowing this about logias. Probably because they'd never had one before.

"It took Monet a couple hours to recover fully, but she was only in trouble for under an hour. Luffy was under for over three days. And we still don't know why his powers had shut off, so that might be a problem in the future, but we're dealing with the present problems first. We'll do what we can if more problems arrive, but for now we're giving him physical therapy multiple times a week, and a wheelchair to get around the ship while he can't walk properly."

Whitebeard sighed sadly. Something was always wrong with him lately. Damn marines kept hurting this young child. It was sickening and made him and the rest of the crew furious with how disgusting and immoral the government and marines were.

"He… he said the saddest thing I've ever heard when he found out something was wrong with him," Tami mumbled, face falling while remembering those words. "He told his bothers, in the most broken voice, that he didn't want to be sick anymore."

Whiskey looked emotional as well. It had affected her, no matter how stoic she was when treating patients who were not going to make it. They always went out with pride or satisfaction with their lives. Most of the time, they died while protecting someone else, and the nurses were used to strong men either faking it or truly passing away with pride. Luffy showed none of that, and it just reminded the nurses with how fragile someone could be, mentaly and emotionally, from an injury.

Whitebeard frowned deeply, not having such a fragile son in a couple years. But, they would do everything they could to help him and make the young child like living here, liked living in general. He knew how hard injuries could be for some, but as long as he had Ace and Sabo with him, Luffy would be alright.

-x-

Luffy's postponed appointment with Wendy wasn't a happy one. Not when he could barely respond with anything but crying, hunched over in his new wheelchair. It was comfortable, but made him feel weak and a burden and useless. He couldn't fight like this, or protect anyone. He cried about how sick he was of having things wrong with him. He'd kept himself from letting go when Ace and Sabo were there, not wanting to upset them. But he couldn't hold it back anymore.

Wendy couldn't get anything through to him, and did something she'd never done with one of her patients before; she hugged him. Carefully took him out of the wheelchair, even though having his limbs touched didn't hurt. Only attempting to exert them caused discomfort. He continued to cry, even as she shushed him.

"You are not useless, you've saved us and protected the ship multiple times. It's just time for you to have a much-needed and well-deserved break. To focus on yourself and healing. You're brothers are strong and getting stronger every day. You don't need to worry about them. You need to trust us, that we will protect them when they can't protect themselves in your stead," Wendy said softly, stroking Luffy's hair as he was limp in her arms except for the shaking from his crying. He was unable to hug her back, and he might not have even if he could.

Once Luffy was calm, Wendy ended the visit once he was done crying and wouldn't talk about anything else, face red in embarrassment. Wendy wheeled him out of the room and to his brothers. Luffy did his best to not show he had been crying, and Wendy didn't mention it either. After all, even if they didn't know Luffy was crying, his brothers would still be there for him.

A couple of times so far while going around the ship with Luffy, one of the brothers would sit in the chair with Luffy in their lap. They were both strong enough to easily push the wheelchair around.

Luffy had physical therapy that day, a couple hours after the counseling visit. It was incredibly boring and frustrating, but he was glad Ace and Sabo weren't inside to see him so weak. Even though he was the youngest, he had always been the strongest. Clearly, not anymore. At least, not emotionally.

Part of him missed the old him, he'd almost never cried, or gotten emotional. But, he didn't want to be "bad" again. The physical therapy was his standing between Whiskey and Tami, who were holding his arms, since he couldn't hold onto the railings that were on either side of him. His arms weren't strong enough to do it himself.

They were nice and didn't say anything, letting him focus just on the task at hand, even though part of him was in silent, emotional turmoil. They did the walking for only twenty minutes and took a long break for Luffy to eat something before heading to the arm exercises, which were even more boring than the walking.

His arm was on a table, and they were going to work on making his joints stronger. It included bending and straightening his arm while one of the two were putting pressure on the area since he couldn't use his other arm to do it himself.

By the end, he was embarrassingly tired. "Physical therapy is tiring, so don't feel embarrassed if you take a nap after this. You did well for the first session. We'll do one three times a week, with one day in between each one to give you rest," Whiskey explained. Luffy was helped to walk to the wheelchair, and was taken back into the main infirmary, feeling stupid and weak.

Luffy didn't seem to be grasping the significance of what he'd done. He was too caught up in his own feelings that he didn't really accept that he'd saved the ship and people on it. No matter how many times someone told him this, he was so internalized at the moment that he didn't process it. He couldn't understand it, and just wanted to be whatever form of normal he could be.

While he laid in the hospital bed at night, looking at the ceiling, since it was hard to stay asleep after the bath treatment wore off lately, he realized that he would never be normal. Not how he wanted to be. The boy tried coming to terms with that, he really did. He wouldn't ever be like a normal little kid.

He would always carry the weight of his past, the trauma from any and all of the scary events that had happened, or his injuries. He worried his brothers would leave him if he got too weak or too dependent. And he'd just been welcomed on the ship when he was now unable to walk and barely able to bring a spoon or fork to his mouth.

_Useless…_

-x-

The Whitebeard pirates could tell Luffy was not in a good place. Probably in a worse place than he was before. He had circles under his eyes for the last week, even though he was taking a bath every night before going to bed in that damn infirmary, which would always be that, no matter how spruced up and homey the pirates tried to make his area.

They saw his dead eyes, the way his shoulders sagged in the wheelchair, the way he'd stare out at the ocean for hours at a time when his brothers were trying to get strong enough so Luffy didn't need to do things on his own or protect them.

Luffy was only eight. Someone his age shouldn't be carrying the burdens he carried. The pirates tried to cheer him up, let him know how much they appreciated him and what he'd done since arriving. They apologized, too, for being unable to fight for their lives and depending on Luffy's amazing power.

No matter what anyone said, he seemed to have this bubble of misery around him that bounced anything positive off of it. Marco was positive Luffy didn't believe he'd done anything special, he hadn't meant to. It was an accident, no matter how helpful it was. He thought he was a burden, and useless.

Every day, the pirates watched as his brothers deteriorated with him, hating that they couldn't cheer him up or help him heal. They could only be there with him when they were allowed, as no distractions were allowed during physical therapy. He came out of that upset every time. Even though Whiskey praised his determination, he kept getting reprimanded at the same time for pushing himself too much.

Everyone hated the situation with all their hearts. It was hard to watch, very hard. He didn't even eat with enthusiasm, even when he was given his favorite foods. Probably because it was hard to lift the utensils, but he refused to have anyone else feed him. That was crossing the line, as being in the wheelchair and unable to wheel it himself was already too much help in his eyes.

Whitebeard was probably in the most pain out of the pirates. He'd always been there for his sons, through any sort of recovery, and they felt their father's support and love every time. But, those were also pirates who'd been with him a long time, or at least long enough to know the extent of the captain's care of them.

The boys joined only a few weeks ago. Officially, joined, that is. Luffy didn't voice it, but he didn't feel like the crew was his family yet. They were good friends and his saviors, but they weren't family. Not yet. He may call Whitebeard "Pops", but just calling someone that didn't mean you felt like a son.

The captain was unable to do anything to help. Right now, Luffy was lost and the only one who could bring him out of this depression was himself. As long as he hated himself, no one could make him feel any better. And the counseling didn't seem to be helping much. After the second visit, Luffy had stopped sharing anything with Wendy, even though he'd gotten much more talkative and honest with her over time. That seemed to have screeched to a halt.

Whiskey was hesitant to put Luffy on any medication for his depression because they hadn't tried anything beforehand, and didn't want more symptoms of medication to come. So, they could only trust Luffy and the love of those around him. And once he saw any sort of recovery, hopefully he would feel better.

No one looked down on Luffy for his current vulnerability, but he clearly looked down on himself. It was truly hard to watch.

-x-

Luffy stood in the middle of the infirmary, his brothers asleep and nurses busy. The physical therapy was taking too long. He would practice by himself, but he had to make sure he wasn't caught. He had his legs coated with the stick, like a brace covering his legs, knees not being bent as the black kept his legs trapped in being stiff.

His feet were like the black was elongated toes that helped him stay upright. He walked forward stiffly, not collapsing. He couldn't do anything about his arms, but he wanted to walk, damnit! Gradually, he reduced the stick until it was only wrapped around his knees. He wobbled, but before he fell, he shot the stick from his torso and hardened it to catch him.

He deemed it was good enough for the night, and walked back to bed, slowly and carefully. He climbed over the bed and between his brothers, and they didn't wake, emotionally exhausted along with Luffy. He knew it was his fault, but he didn't have the strength to even pretend he was alright.

When he woke up, no one knew about his late night practicing. No one knew he was going against what the nurses said. He'd always done things by himself, no one to care for him in his old life. He could heal himself _by _himself. He shouldn't need help, he shouldn't have become this weak.

Despite the new mentality of not needing help, Luffy did the physical therapy only because he didn't want anyone mad at him, not until he was showing results of his personal training. Everyone already knew he wasn't sleeping right, so the circles under his eyes were nothing new. No one knew about what he was doing, and it would stay that way for as long as possible.

Which, unfortunately, or fortunately, he was only night-time practicing for three days before he was caught. It wasn't by his brothers or the nurses. It was Marco. He'd walked into it, lit up by his flames to see better, when he saw someone standing in the middle of the room, a silhouette that was wobbly. He knew who it was by how small he was. Marco stomped over to him, and gently grabbed his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marco had whispered, not wanting to cause a scene yet. The stick snapped back in place in surprise, but Marco caught him before he fell. Luffy was frightened of angry Marco, but he stared back defiantly.

"Practicing," Luffy replied. "I can do it myself. I've always done it by myself, I can do it by myself now, too," he said in a strong voice, despite the small wobble that was an undertone. Marco sighed, and picked up Luffy and took him outside into the dark hallway. Marco held him sturdy, and set both of them down on the floor against the wall.

"That may be true, you've always done things on your own. That's because there was no one there to help you when there should have been. You were a tool for them, and needed to be strong to carry out their will. But _you're not there anymore. _When will you accept our help? When will you believe us when we want to help you, or thank you, or appreciate your presence? We've helped you before, after Teach and the battle with the marines. What's changed since then?" Marco asked softly, almost begging for the answer.

"I wasn't completely useless then!" Luffy erupted. "I was hurting, but I wasn't useless. I could walk on my own, hold a stupid spoon and eat on my own. I didn't have to be helped into the bathroom, or carried everywhere or in a stupid wheelchair!"

Marco was glad the infirmary doors were shut and soundproof for patients who were in recovery and didn't need to hear loud sounds. "You are _not _useless. It's not shameful to need help, or ask for it. You've asked for help before, why can't you accept it now?"

"I already told you," Luffy said back, over his shouting.

"We took you into our family, we care about you," Marco pointed out emphatically. "Do you think we would invite someone we don't like? Shouldn't us helping you show that we care?" Marco was trying to understand why Luffy was so stubborn on this one, why he'd changed so much. He'd been injured there before, why not this time?

"You only care cause I helped you. And now I can't," Luffy grumbled. Marco was shocked, but knew deep down Luffy didn't feel that. He was in a bad place, and so he said negative things. Things he didn't mean. God, Marco hoped he didn't mean them.

"That is not true, Luffy," Marco said in a stern voice.

"You only helped me cause Teach was one of your crew members, and then I helped out with the marine fight, and then I helped with the buster call. That's all I am, I'm helpful. No one should care about me. I'm dragging everyone down," Luffy said harshly, though his voice got quieter the more he talked.

The words broke Marco's heart. He didn't know it was this bad. No one knew it was this bad, he'd been bottling up everything, trying to take care of himself by himself. Convinced that he was only worth something to be useful. Marco wanted to kill every single marine out there that had cause this boy to have such a horrible life.

"We would still care about you even if you hadn't helped us. Pops would still want to be your father, Thatch and Haruta would still bend backwards to make you happy and feel loved, I would still do anything I could to help you," Marco listed. Luffy's face didn't change, he wasn't believing a word Marco said.

"What can I do to help you?"

"Don't. I don't need help. I'm fine," Luffy responded, voice neutral and utterly void of any emotion.

"That's something no one on this ship can do. We will help you whether you want us to or not," Marco said, not planning on doing as Luffy wished. That wasn't how a family worked. "That's not how families work, we help each other no matter what."

"Maybe you made a mistake. You even said taking in Teach was a mistake, maybe taking me was a mistake, too. All I do is get hurt and cause trouble for everyone else. I have to take a bath every night so I don't kill myself or my brothers in my sleep. How is that not being a burden for everyone? You can't even drink like you want or I'll die from it," Luffy said. "I only forced Ace and Sabo to like me. They probably are tired of me, too. Or they will unless I get better. I have to get better as soon as possible. They'll say nice things to me, but that doesn't change that I ruined their lives. Trapped them with me. I was too stupid to even realize it would be better for them if they left me."

Luffy was now crying, his voice wobbly and choked. Marco picked the limp boy up and held him close, rocking back and forth. Marco didn't know if Luffy would hug back even if he could. "Your brothers love you for you. Being injured or 'useless' won't change that."

"Don't tell them I said that or they'll get mad or sad," Luffy ordered, though it was choked with tears, not exactly intimidating. Marco promised the conversation was between the two of them, and he wouldn't be telling anyone else, even the captain. Marco needed the trust of Luffy, and blabbing about this clear moment of weakness and hurt wouldn't help him in that.

"We will always help you. I'm not sorry, but we can't do that. We can't abandon you. Maybe we can't make you believe we love you, but that won't stop us from doing so," Marco said softly, running his fingers through Luffy's hair. "What can _I _do to help you?"

Marco thought he was going to tell him that he didn't need help again, but Luffy said something else. "Help me practice."

Marco didn't know what to do. He couldn't go against the nurses, they knew best, but he wanted to help Luffy in a way the boy would see as helpful.

"I will supervise the sessions and help you work your devil fruit powers to help as you were just doing. I won't go against what the nurses say, and help you at night without their permission. I may be the first mate, but I can't go against their decisions. But, I will help you help yourself. Like you want, only I'll be there to make sure nothing happens to you," Marco explained.

Luffy was quiet, probably considering what Marco had said to him. Marco added, "I can't control your devil fruit powers. Only you can, and that means using them will be helping yourself, correct?" The boy nodded.

"I'm going to bring you back to Ace and Sabo and go to bed. Get a good night's rest and we'll start tomorrow. You have physical therapy in the morning, and I'll make the change."

"You said you couldn't tell them what to do," Luffy pointed out, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"I can if it's to help their patients," Marco said. "More like forcefully persuade them. And, if necessary, I'll talk to Pops. But I won't give him the details of our conversation. And I won't tell anyone about your late night practicing as long as it stops."

Luffy nodded, and tried his best to stand up. Marco didn't carry him back into the room, but supported him under one arm, bent down since Luffy was so much shorter than him. When they entered the room, everyone was still asleep, and the man had to wonder just how exhausted the other two were that they didn't notice Luffy leaving the bed?


	31. Pain and Suffering For All

**phoenix: Poor baby. I put him through so much.**

**izzywolf22: :(**

* * *

**So close to the end! I'm sad! This fic got popular. I don't want it to be over, but there is no sequel. Well, see you next week. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Why is Marco doing the physical therapy now?" Sabo wondered. Luffy stayed quiet, not having told them about anything that happened the night before while they were sleeping. "I mean, I'm not _upset _by it, cause Marco is smart, but I wonder why now?" Ace shrugged and Luffy stayed silent, not wanting to lie to his brothers.

He was in the wheelchair, even though it was a small distance from his area and the physical therapy room. Marco was wearing something different than usual that day, when Luffy was inside the room, both doors closed so no one else saw them. Marco had only told Whiskey he had a good idea he wanted to try, and she trusted him.

Marco didn't help Luffy get to the bars from the wheelchair. He wanted Luffy to feel in control, and wouldn't like being carried the four feet it took to get to the bars. "Ready?" Luffy nodded. He covered his legs in the stick, like mud or thick oil being excreted from his skin. It soon covered his legs, from his upper thigh and down.

"Why don't you make some braces for your upper body to catch you?" Marco suggested. Luffy was wearing shorts and a tank top, not a gown anymore. He shot the stick out of the area under his armpits and onto the bar, frowning in concentration as he hardened that part. It was hard to focus on everything: standing upright, keeping his legs still liquidy and having the upper parts of him hard. It was easy doing these things while fighting, but that was him moving naturally and not having to think about it. He look a deep breath and put on a determined expression, eyebrows crinkled.

"Feel the soles of your feet harden," Marco said slowly, focused. Luffy knew he was going to try to help him, even if Luffy wished he could do it by himself. Luffy nodded and did so. "Keep the front and back sticky, but not the bottom of where your feet are. Then, if you tumble forwards, the stick will keep you in place." The boy nodded again and did his best to.

Any other time, Luffy should have been able to do this easily. Now, he was unsure and his powers were showing it. Just like they reacted to his nightmares, they were reacting to his uncertainty. But, he was determined to make any progress. He wanted to walk again. No more wheelchair!

The sick seeped out of his toes and heels, grounding him. Marco didn't need to tell him what to do next, Luffy did it. The stick around his knees was hardened so they couldn't bend or buckle under him. It wasn't going to work to walk very well, but it would keep him from falling. He took the first, jerky step forward, then a second. The stick from his chest slid along the bars as he went.

Marco didn't say anything the whole time, though he watched Luffy like a hawk, ready to help if needed. Luffy appreciated that he was doing what Luffy had wanted. Letting him do it himself, but being there to make it seem like he was coaching. Thank goodness there was no window in the doors that anyone could see them in.

The stick on Luffy's feet became more easy to control the more confident Luffy became in his powers. He'd learned by himself before, he could do it again. Soon, he was walking more smoothly, though nowhere near natural looking. The moment he tried to lessen the hardness of the stick around his knees, he buckled and fell. Marco was there in a flash, catching him.

Luffy smiled for the first time in over a week. Progress! Small, but there nonetheless. He didn't wish to work on his arms. He wanted to focus on his legs, but Marco heavily suggested he do something for his arms. Luffy thought for a moment, trying to figure out something to do. What could his stick do to help the strength of his arms and shoulders. He looked up at the ceiling, which wasn't too high. He sat down on the wheelchair, unable to stand for more than a couple seconds without the help of the stick. Marco stayed at the wall, watching carefully.

Luffy needed to use the stick without using his hands to direct it. But, he didn't have any force to stick the substance on the ceiling. He tried, but it didn't work, there was no momentum to get it up there. He didn't want to ask for Marco's help, but did in the end. He'd still come up with the idea by himself, Marco would just help him with it.

"Will you stick this to the ceiling?" Luffy asked, secreteing good out of his lower arms. Marco easily reached the ceiling by jumping, sticking the disgusting textured goo on the ceiling. It raised Luffy's arms in front of him to chest level.

He kept it there for a good 10 minutes, gradually getting rid of tiny strands of the stick, which snapped back to him and was absorbed back into his tan, stretch-marked skin. The less and less there was to help him hold his arms, the more they shook. He ignored it.

Finally, the stick was gone, and Luffy's arms were held out in front of him. He was breathing heavily, but kept his arms up for a good ten seconds before the flopped back into his lap uselessly. His longest time had been five seconds. After doing that, it gave him five seconds more.

The walking part was more convenient, so he guessed he'd do the arm workouts Whiskey told him to. They were incredibly boring, but for now, he wanted to spend most of his energy on using his ability as a brace to steady his legs. He had a plan now. But, his limbs were exhausted and he was sweaty. It was embarrassing how taxing that was.

"Practice makes perfect, and we've barely begun," Marco said, and wheeled him out of the room, already asleep in the chair. Ace and Sabo worried that Marco had overdone it and that's why Luffy was already asleep. They didn't know he didn't sleep for much of the night, but Marco assured them that he was just tired and not hurt in any way.

"Thanks, Marco," Sabo said slowly. Something was up, but if Luffy didn't tell them about it, it couldn't be anything serious. Maybe it was some new sort of training. Luffy felt useless right now, so maybe Marco changed something than the previous physical therapy sessions with Whiskey and sometimes Tami.

Ace didn't have anything click either, just wheeling Luffy to the library. Since the boys were so strong, one would carry Luffy up or down the stairs while the other folded up the wheelchair and carried that separately. They put Luffy down on the comfy couch, somewhere comfortable that wasn't the infirmary. The boys couldn't wait to be out of there and Luffy to be better.

Luffy hadn't said a thing about the marks on him that weren't fading at all. The boys assumed he didn't care. He was never one to care about appearances, let alone his own. Well, besides the tattoo. It was on hiatus for removal while Luffy recovered.

No one else had mentioned the marks, as far as the brothers knew. Whiskey had told Luffy that the marks may be permanent after a week had passed after the incident, and Luffy just nodded numbly. He either didn't process it or just honestly didn't care.

-x-

Physical therapy sessions with Whiskey had changed to only be his arms. Marco was taking Luffy's legs, so he had double sessions, but with different coaches. Whiskey was usually first, while Marco's followed a few minutes after. Those who practically lived in the infirmaries, the nurses and the three boys, noticed that Luffy always came out of Marco's sessions more satisfied.

Marco was in his office filing paperwork when an angry nurse stormed in. Marco felt her come in with his haki, but wasn't expecting her to be so loud, slamming the double doors shut behind her. Marco jerked up and turned around in his chair. "Whiskey? What's wrong? Is Luffy okay?" Marco asked in a panic, thinking something had gone wrong. He was wrong.

"I have a question," Whiskey said slowly, fists clenched.

"Yeeaahh?" Marco questioned uncertainly, looking at the exit but seeing she was right in front of the door and it would be shameful to run. But, no one ever angered the nurses, and he didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He hadn't injured anyone or anything in the infirmary.

"WHY DOES HE LIKE YOUR SESSIONS MORE!?" she bellowed. "I do everything right, like I always have, but he always comes out of yours happier! WHY?!"

Marco put both hands up in a "calm down" gesture. "I can't tell you, Whiskey. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. I won't break that promise and lose his trust," Marco said in a stern voice. Whiskey silenced, but still looked angry.

"Give me a hint, then," she challenged. "How do I make his sessions with me better?" Marco didn't know what to say, but knew he had to reply quickly or something of his would be broken. The man thought furiously, knowing he couldn't tell her the truth but she'd sense a lie real easily.

"I work with his devil fruit," Marco replied. It was the truth, but he didn't mention that he only supervised and that Luffy did most of the work and thinking. Whiskey demanded clarification. "We utilize his fruit, using it as assistance."

"How do I do that with his arms?" Whiskey asked, much quieter and calmer now.

Marco was going to continue with the truth, just not going into detail. Marco wasn't bound by patient-doctor confidentiality, but he would keep secret everything Luffy had old him and the way he "trained" him. That was basically what the physical therapy for his legs were. Marco was no doctor, but it was helping Luffy, so he'd continue what he'd been doing the last two weeks.

"You can't. We tried to do anything for his arms, but it doesn't work as well with his arms," Marco explained. Whiskey's face fell, and he felt bad for her. She was doing her best, but Luffy's healing of his arms were taking longer than the improvement was of his legs.

"...Thanks for telling me. I won't tell anyone else about this conversation. Including Luffy," Whiskey said, and left the room.

The next day, Marco was going to stop Luffy working on walking and instead building strength in his bones again. Whiskey was unable to make any predictions on when Luffy would be better, but he hoped soon. Or at least, major improvement that the child could see and feel. He was still on the wheelchair, and was not cheating by working in the middle fo the night. Luffy had promised he wouldn't, and Marco trusted his words.

When Marco entered the infirmary and looked to Luffy's area, he saw him coloring messily on the coloring book in front of him. He was able to move his hands, but not the rest of his arm. He may still be able to hold a spoon but couldn't lift it to his mouth, which was the main problem. It was just good he was able to use his hands.

"Luffy, did you already do your physical therapy with Whiskey?" he asked. Luffy nodded, and sat up. Marco was going to ask why Luffy was not moving in worry, before he recognzied that face. One of discovery and realization. Marco waited, wondering what he'd just thought of. Ace and Sabo were on the bed, too, worrying about why Luffy wasn't saying anything. Ace went to help him down when Luffy told him not to.

"Let me try something," he said. From his bare foot, the substance dripped out and stretched to the floor. He hardened it, and it buckled slightly, growing shorter and yanking Luffy's leg out from under the covers and over the side of the bed. He toppled off, Marco catching him before he hit the ground.

Ace and Sabo looked shocked, but Luffy had an open smile on. It was a big step in Ace and Sabo's minds, while Marco thought it was measly compared to the progress he was making with Marco. He was no doctor, and couldn't reveal much about it to Whiskey, so he couldn't make any diagnosis, but thought Luffy was coming along nicely.

The hot baths before bed helped after his legs ached. It was a mystery why it had been over two weeks and he still had trouble walking on his own and moving his arms up any higher than his belly button. Maybe they weren't trying hard enough, but Marco didn't want to jeopardize anything and make things _worse. _

"Luffy, you okay?" Marco asked. Luffy nodded, and told his brothers he'd be out soon. Marco carried him to the room and closed the door behind him. He set Luffy down, who latched on to the floor automatically, keeping himself stationary easily with his ability thick around his calf and knee.

"We're gonna try something different today. Your range of motion, instead of just walking a few steps forwards. We've gotten that down well. Let out some extra stick on your leg," Marco said, and Luffy let some out. Marco was over the texture of it by now. He'd handeld it often enough to be used to it. He picked up a glob of it and stuck it on the ceiling, lifting Luffy's left leg.

"This is an exercise called a leg lift, though it's modified. I want you to lower your leg as much as you can, as close to the ground as possible, and when you can't do anymore, I want you to control your way back up. Don't let it snap back into place," Marco instructed. He held onto Luffy's arm for more support as Luffy did his best. He was losing concentration as it started to get longer and longer before it was useless and now stretched to the floor. "Nice! Can you do the other leg now, too?"

Luffy nodded in determination, and planted his other leg down to the ground sturdy, Marco connecting a string of it to the ceiling again. Luffy did well, but not as well as his other leg did. It was probably because he was more tired after doing the modified leg-lift on the other leg.

Once he was unable to do a anymore, Luffy sat on the floor against the wall, his legs exhausted. "I'll get better soon, Marco," Luffy said in a flat voice. Marco didn't know if Luffy actually believed that or was saying it to make the phoenix feel better, or maybe he hadn't even noticed he'd said it at all.

"How is your sleep lately?" Marco asked, changing the subject during their break. It was gonna be a long one. "Any bad dreams?"

Luffy shrugged. "The same as always when I take the baths before bed. Not there, or at least I don't remember them." Marco nodded, that was good. He didn't need emotional turmoil in his sleep like when he was awake.

"Are you feeling any better emotionally? Like, sadness or worry or fear?" Marco probed. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. If you do, you know by now I won't judge you."

Luffy was quiet for a minute. "I'm still sad, and everytime I sit in the wheelchair I feel useless. Ace and Sabo say I'm not, but it doesn't change how I feel about it," the eight year old said, sounding too old. Marco wished, once again, Luffy was able to be a little kid. They'd been with the Whitebeards for over five months and if anything, Luffy seemed even older than he did when he came.

Sure, he knew more about the world but he also had a lot of very traumatizing things happen to him in a short amount of time, with a lot of side effects and emotional and physical damage. Mental, as well. "Everyone's really nice, but I don't feel it. I don't feel Ace and Sabo's love anymore. I think they love me, but I don't feel it," Luffy said sadly, sniffling but unable to bring his hand up to wipe his runny nose.

"That's understandable. Depression alters relationships and how you perceive them. You could be surrounded by people who love you, but when you hate yourself, you don't feel any of that. It passes right above your head. When you get better, hopefully you'll feel all of our love. And you will get better, you always do," Marco replied thoughtfully.

"I can't talk to Wendy anymore," Luffy suddenly said, after a few minutes of silence. Marco made a questioning noise. "Our visits aren't nice for me. I don't think they're helping either. Just make me feel more broken cause I don't feel anything after leaving. I used to feel better after the counseling, but now it just feels like… a waste of time."

Marco looked at the ceiling with a sad frown. This was hard to hear and watch, but Marco was Luffy's older brother now, he had to help him and wanted to. "Are you talking to your brothers, instead?" Marco asked in a patient voice. He noticed Luffy's look of shame.

"They're mad at me, cause I'm not talking about it. It's the same stuff, there's nothing new to talk about," Luffy replied sadly, looking at the floor. "They feel bad cause they can't help me and I'm not getting any better any faster."

"We're in no hurry, Luffy. There's no time limit you have to be better by. There's no deadline for healing. It takes time, as you have learned first hand," Marco pointed out kindly. Luffy looked down again after glancing at Marco.

"I feel like there's a deadline. There's always been a deadline, even when we were on the ship. I had to get better by a certain island. We had to be stronger to set out on our own. Now that we're staying, it feels different," Luffy replied honestly.

Marco responded with, "I'm not sorry to say there is no deadline for you to get better here." Luffy sighed.

"Wish there was…" the youngest murmured. It was moments like this that Marco forget Luffy wasn't even in his double digits yet. He was an old soul, much too old with terrible experiences.

"You can set a goal, but not a deadline. Your goal is to be able to walk within a month, if you don't reach the goal, you extend it. There is no deadline where you are a failure if you don't make it. Goals are helpful, deadlines are stressful." Luffy nodded, and agreed with that goal.

"_But, _you have to promise me you won't practice when I'm not there," Marco said sternly. Luffy nodded, and promised he would. The rest of that day's session was hardening his legs to the floor up to the front of his knees so he didn't fall forward, but doing squats so he brought himself back up to a standing position, which Marco assisted him with when necessary. The boy didn't complain about it, accepting the help without a word.

-x-

Luffy felt much better having a "goal". To him, it was still a deadline. But that was what he wanted. And with a deadline, he felt more motivated than he was before, which had still been pretty motivated.

He kept his promise to Marco to not move around and practice on his own. But, he could still use his fruit to try and strengthen his legs. Whenever he was alone, which was rare, he would try to coat his legs with the stick and harden it so close to his skin, so it looked smooth black. No dripping goo to be seen. It was difficult to concentrate on. And doing it alone made him sad, but he didn't want to ask for help in this. He wanted to be able to take care of himself when he could. He had been unable to heal his burn by himself so he had help, along with the nightmares and his powers activating during the night.

This was different, he could do this himself, or at least mostly by himself. Even if he couldn't, he knew he had to try and had convinced himself he could. He also did a lot of meditation, which was boring and he thought about stuff, hard to clear his mind, until he imagined hardening his bones, coating his joints inside his legs. He didn't know if it was working, as nothing felt different. But, he was trying to do what he could when Marco wasn't there.

Ace and Sabo were both miserable. They felt Luffy had stopped loving them after all of the stress and depression. Luffy barely talked anymore, mostly lost in his own thoughts and not willing to talk about them. It was like he had just set them down, walked away and never went back.

Deep down, both of them knew Luffy hadn't stopped loving them, and was just going through hard times. Though he tried wearing the poker face, Luffy was very depressed. They wouldn't forget "I don't want to be sick anymore." Those words would never leave their minds.

Ace had to leave the infirmary, crying, one day because Luffy didn't hug him back when he tried. Luffy didn't know he was crying, Ace offered to go get some food for them. But, he went to the special space that they hadn't used in a long time it seemed, since it was far from the infirmary, where the boys lived now.

Marco was in his office, which Ace wasn't expecting when he started crying loudly the moment he got to the room. Marco looked up sharply and turned around. Ace was about to leave, wiping his tears away, when the first mate stood up and hugged Ace without a word. Ace hugged him back and sobbed into his open chest, getting tears and snot all over his tattoo. Marco said nothing about it.

"Luffy hasn't stopped loving you. He thinks you've both stopped loving him because he feels useless and a burden to everyone," Marco said with no preamble.

"We try to help him, but he won't help us. He won't talk to us anymore," Ace mumbled, getting his emotions under control.

Marco rubbed his back soothingly. "When people have depression, they often curl in on themselves and shut everyone else out. When others become upset with their actions or attitude, it makes things worse. The only way you can help is to try to let him know how much you love him. And don't baby him, let him do what he can on his own. If he can't walk someplace, assist him but don't carry him. If he can't use a spoon or fork, don't feed him, support his arm so he can bring his hand to his mouth.

"Luffy has always wanted to be normal. It's not normal to have everyone around you do everything," Marco concluded. He didn't share much of what Luffy had told him, just the very bare minimum, that he could see himself just by watching his interactions with others. Often, he'd tell someone they didn't have to wheel him somewhere, even though he couldn't do it himself.

Despite how fragile Luffy was emotionally, everyone could tell he had quite a bit of pride in himself and his strength, and it was severely wounded with this injury. Ace didn't know how Luffy accepted all the help the other times when he felt so determined to take care of himself. He sometimes wondered when Luffy would truly settle in his ever-changing personality.

But, he and Sabo would always be there for him, whether he liked it or not. Ace would pass on to Sabo to stop babying or coddling their brother. He may be their baby brother, but he was not a baby. The youngest, but not a helpless baby.

Ace left, thanking Marco sincerely, and went to go get food like he was supposed to. It was lunch time, and sandwiches. Ace knew what ingredients Sabo and Luffy liked, so he made their sandwiches and easily brough all three plates to the infirmary.

Sabo set the tray down in front of Luffy, and he held the sandwich but his arms shook when he tried to raise it to his mouth. Ace said nothing as he supported Luffy's arms up while he ate. Luffy showed surprise at it, as Ace or Sabo hadn't done this before. It clearly made him feel better than Ace or Sabo feeding him completely.

The blonde brother looked at Ace, who mouthed "_later" _which Luffy didn't notice. After the sandwich, Ace let go of Luffy's arms, which slowly fell to his lap as the tray was moved. "You thirsty?" the freckled child questioned. Luffy nodded.

Picking up the water bottle on the end of the table and handing it to Luffy, he did the same as before, and supported his arms to lift the bottle of water to his mouth to drink. Before then, Ace or Sabo had always held the bottle to his mouth like a baby. Ace could now see how being treated like that would be embarrassing and make you feel weak.

If Ace had to have someone feed him like that or carry him to the bathroom, he knew it would hurt his pride. He understood now, and would do better.

Once Ace told Sabo about Marco's suggestion, both began to give Luffy more chances to try things on his own. It made a big difference in how useless he felt. For the better.


	32. A New Beginning

**phoenix & HOLAA913: I'm very sad it's over, too. My longest story posted, and it was pretty popular. :(**

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**Here we are at the end, 32 weeks from the start. I want to thank the 18,000+ views you all made. Seeing the number climb made me so happy. And thank you for all of the reviews. I'm very sad this story is ending, but hopefully the ending is satisfying. again, thanks for following it for so long. Enjoy~**

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It was after another physical therapy session with Marco that Luffy tried the hardening around his legs to walk like very strict braces all around his legs. The front and back of his knees were bare when the sides were connected to the black on his lower and upper legs.

For the first time, Luffy walked with his legs bent, without holding the bars. Marco grinned and congratulated him. The boy smiled, but frowned once his legs were starting to fail him. Marco was about to help when Luffy shot out stick from his stomach and hardened it to keep him from falling forward.

Marco did nothing to help, watching Luffy closely and standing close enough to catch him if necessary. Luffy pushed himself upright again, wobbling a bit, but making the soles of his feet sticky to stay in place. He had never had to use such control on his powers, and it was new, but it made him proud to be able to do this even when injured like he was.

Marco made him stop once he was going to try to walk with no assistance. "That's enough for today. No overdoing it, but you've made incredible progress. You haven't been practicing walking on your own, have you?" Marco asked in a stern voice. Luffy shook his head, smiling, even as he was carried to the wheelchair waiting by the door.

"I was practicing hardening my legs like that in bed," he explained. "I wasn't doing anything that would hurt myself."

"Good idea. Do you think it's time to tell Ace and Sabo about our training? Now that you've gotten better at it, you might not feel so embarrassed? It might give them hope, you know, to see you improving not only for your body but also your devil fruit? After all, if you can harden your entire body, you don't need to slash or consume anyone. You can just kick them or punch them and they'll be down. Much less messy."

Luffy looked hopeful at that. "Really?" Marco nodded with a smile.

"I'll teach you how to kick well. When I'm not in full phoenix form, I use kicking since my arms are unusable," the man offered, glad to see a smile on his face. "So, how about letting them in next time?" he asked, getting back on topic.

The boy was quiet for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Okay. Next time they can come in. I'll tell them so." Marco smiled, and said that was good. "They've been better to me, not doing everything for me and just helping me when I need it. Makes me… happier."

Marco grinned. "That's great, I'm happy for you. They're good brothers. Should I tell everyone else to not coddle or baby you? Do you want me to do that?" the man offered. He hoped Luffy would say yes and make everything even better. The boy didn't wait to nod. "I'll get on that as soon as possible. When do you want to start eating meals with us again? It's been a few weeks."

Luffy tilted his neck and just barely raised his shoulder as a shrug. "I don't like how they look at me," he confessed. Marco frowned, having noticed the way he was being looked at as well. It was sympathy, but could easily be seen as pity instead. And Luffy didn't like worrying over him, but it was clear everyone was concerned, whether he wanted them to be or not. That wasn't going to change, even as Luffy shut everyone out.

The commanders were feeling bad about it. Luffy had been accepting their attention at first, but the longer this lasted, the worse he got. Hopefully, with this new training that was improving him, he'd do better.

-x-

Whitebeard stood solemnly in the nurses room as Whiskey gave him the results of the new tests on Luffy's limbs. Since his ability doesn't work well after taking a bath, they could only get a good image of him when his powers weren't working. Whiskey had made sure to keep her findings to herself and the other nurses before telling the captain. She may have patient-doctor confidentiality, but she couldn't hide something like this.

"So, what your saying is, his legs won't be able to function normally anymore?" Whitebeard asked in a sad voice as he looked at the comparison images from right after the problem and a few hours ago.

The bones in his legs seemed to be deteriorating. They were in worse shape than they were before. Whiskey nodded, face showing immense sorrow. "What about his arms?" Whitebeard asked quietly. Whiskey looked much better when that was the question asked.

"I don't think physical therapy is working for his arms, but they're healing better. They will be able to heal and can move them normally. It will take a few weeks of healing himself. The physical therapy is becoming useless as it's making little improvement. You can also tell his arms are healing more than his legs based on the fact that the stretch marks that once covered them are gone. Those are the only places they've healed.

"Though the rest of his body was under stress after the event, he is functioning fine other than his legs," Whiskey explained, reading off her clipboard. Whitebeard then asked if she knew why the arms were healing and the legs weren't.

"I wasn't there to witness it, but from what you said, Luffy used his arms to help out you right? Well, that meant his back legs took all of the weight of his body and the Moby Dick, which is thousands of tons. His back legs just couldn't handle that." Her face looked pained. "I'm worried about telling him. He might slip, Pops. He might never come out of his depression if he learns of this. But I cannot keep the information from him.

"The only thing I could see helping him is Marco's training," Whiskey said.

"Training? What do you mean?" the captain asked, very confused as Marco never mentioned any training to him. Had he been doing something without telling anyone? But then, how did Whiskey know? She looked surprised.

"I thought he'd told you. He's been working on Luffy's legs, though it's hardly physical therapy in a medical point of view. Apparently, he's been teaching Luffy to assist his walking by using his devil fruit. But, whatever it is, that's not the reason Luffy's legs have no gotten better. It's because they won't. And, if he's able to use his stick on his legs, that means his devil fruit is still active, he hasn't lost that ability."

Whitebeard was very disappointed that Marco hadn't told him, but trusted that the man had a reason. Marco didn't keep secrets, so this was honestly shocking to the captain. It might have pained him a little, but he couldn't see Marco having malicious intent for this, and Whiskey said it would improve Luffy's legs functioning.

He would talk to Marco as soon as possible. He thanked Whiskey, and told her to have him in the room when she gives the news to Luffy and his brothers. He left the room, giving Luffy a smile when he watched him leave. Luffy looked worried, as did his brothers. They hadn't been given the results yet, so they were probably assuming that it was bad.

The captain found Marco in his office, head down on the table, looking exhausted and very low-spirited. Whitebeard almost changed his mind about confronting him, but he had to know why it was being kept a secret.

"Son, we need to talk," Whitebeard said, and closed the door behind him. Marco slowly brought his head up and looked at his father with worried eyes, as he wasn't giving him the usual fond look. He was frustrated.

"What's up?" he asked in a tired voice.

"Why did you not tell me you were working with healing Luffy's legs?" Whitebeard questioned, getting right to the point. Marco sighed, probably expecting that would be the question. He looked at his hands, seeming quite uncomfortable.

"I didn't want you to get your hopes up, thinking Luffy was going to heal in no time. He's gotten better while assisted with his fruit, but unassisted, there's been almost no improvement," the first mate explained honestly. "I also told him that I wouldn't tell anyone, and I wasn't going to break that trust. Not with him, with how he is now. I didn't want to make things worse, you praising him might think he's going to heal."

Whitebeard lost any of his anger and disappointment. He wished Marco had told him, but he hadn't done it to lie, he'd done it to keep the trust of a very fragile child. And now he'd broken it, but Whiskey was the one to say anything. Still, though, she would have found out by Marco. "How long have you known he wouldn't heal?" he asked, trying to move on from the secrets Marco kept.

Marco shrugged. "Couple sessions. He thinks he is, but it's only thanks to his devil fruit. I can see it helping him a lot once he finds complete balance in it. Did Whiskey tell you the results of the tests?" He sounded pleading for Whitebeard to tell him something other than what he thought he knew.

"His legs have not gotten better. She says it's from his supporting all of that weight to his hind legs in that form since he was using his arms to help us. I don't know how to tell him. But, he needs to know the truth. And he needs to know that he can do this with his fruit. You think so, right?"

The phoenix agreed, nodding. "I know there are plenty of logias and even paramecias that replace limbs with their fruits. Aokiji lost his arm, but now it's made of ice. Luffy is a logia, and he can use that to his advantage with this. Any other person I would say it was hopeless."

Whitebeard sighed sadly. "Do his brothers know about the secret training?" Marco nodded, and said he'd told them a few days ago. They'd been mad at not knowing, but knew Luffy wanted to do this on his own, and didn't want help. It hurt them, but they already knew he hated them doing things for him. He'd been incredibly dependent these last couple months on others, after living eight years doing things by himself. It was a big change that everyone seemed to have ignored or forgotten.

"Should we go tell him?" Marco asked. "I want to be there, too." Whitebeard nodded, and the two put the secrets behind them, luckily not evolving into something worse. Marco had kept the secret, but hadn't enjoyed keeping it to himself. There were plenty of times he had conversations with others and didn't share, most times.

But this was important. Pops forgave him, and they had bigger issues to deal with, like breaking that poor boy into more pieces. They had to give him some hope, though. When they entered the infirmary, the three boys' eyes were incredibly wide and scared. Both were holding Luffy's hands.

Whiskey and Tami looked up, and Whiskey wheeled out the board to compare the x-rays to the boys. Whitebeard and Marco kept their expressions not hopeless. They had to be strong for anyone that was hurt.

"We have the results of Luffy's tests. Your arms will heal back to normal as long as you do your own practices daily. They seem to be healing naturally but not due to the physical therapy, so we'll be ending the sessions, to let your fruit work its magic on your arms. I can tell its healing based on the stretch marks slowly disappearing, as well as parts of your arms healing well that we haven't been working on exclusively," Whiskey explained. The three didn't look happy, knowing there was still the issue with Luffy's legs.

Tammi took a deep breath and took over. She turned the board around to show the before and after x-rays images. "This is from the first day after you got too big, and this is today." They didn't need to be told that the newest one looked a little worse. "Luffy's legs aren't healing, and we think they won't. When you changed and consumed the ship for everyones' safety, and then used your front legs, or arms, to fight with Marco and Whitebeard, you put that tremendous weight and pressure mostly on your back legs. They couldn't handle it. You won't be able to walk normally like how you used to."

Tears were falling down Luffy's face, scrunched up eyes and wobbly mouth. Ace and Sabo looked devastated as well, both having tears, too. Ace and Sabo hugged him tightly. "We're not finished," Tami said, not wanting them to think everything was hopeless when they had some.

"With the type of training Marco has been doing, your movements have improved, right?" Whiskey asked. Luffy nodded, Ace wiping his nose since he couldn't lift his arms all the way, closer than the beginning, but still not completely healed. "We think that your devil fruit could be used to replace the effort your bones and muscles usually did. There's a logia that lost his arm, but was able to use his own fruit to grow it back.

"You haven't lost your legs. And we don't intend on cutting them off, don't worry about that. You may have had your arm cut off and regrow, but we will _not _risk doing something like that with your legs. With your skills honed enough, you will most likely be able to function normally, but will always have your powers being used. Just like Ace had to hone his ability to stay tangible at will all the time, or intangible all the time, you can do that same.

"There is hope, Luffy. Don't let yourself fall further. You're surrounded by loved ones, who will take care of you how you'd like," Marco spoke up. "We don't know how long it will take, but we're confident you will be able to use them again. Just more focused."

"What about shifting into his full monster mode?" Sabo asked, an arm around Luffy and rubbing his back.

Whiskey immediately said, "Not anytime soon. We won't risk making things worse. You will still be able to change into half form, the more humanoid version of your fruit, but full form is unknown as of now. You won't be carrying anyone anytime soon, but you can still consume things. Like how you did for Ace when he caught on fire all the time."

Ace spoke up, next. "So, he can still use most of his abilities?"

"Yes. Since he is already quite adept at his fruit, I think that once he gets the hang of it, he will be fine. It's all up to determination now, Luffy," Whiskey replied. "You learned everything by yourself, so you can do this with help from others."

Luffy looked down in shame, and everyone in the room knew Luffy didn't want help. But, he wanted to get better, and if getting help was necessary to get better, then he had to accept it.

-x-

It seemed that the physical therapy on Luffy's arms had been hindering him. They needed to be relaxed and practically limp all day everyday to heal. They knew this because the first three days after the news hit him, Luffy laid in bed and did nothing else, and his arms started to improve. Sabo would read stories, but his brothers didn't know if he was listening or not.

He felt horrible for making them upset like this, but his depression only got worse after hearing about his stupid legs being broken for good. Or whatever was wrong with them. They knew his arms healed by the ability to move better once he finally started moving again on his own. His legs were unable to move, so he didn't bother with getting up.

Maybe he he stayed still for long enough, they'd heal, too. But, a sign of parts of his body healing were the maks vanishing. There were only faint traces on his face anymore, but they were ever present on his useless legs. The nurses and pirates had tried to give him hope, but he was just full of shame and bottled up anger at himself and the marines for ordering that buster call.

Part of him regretted absorbing the ship, but he knew that was just the super pessimistic side, the rest of him thought saving everyone and the ship was a good thing, no matter if he got hurt. It was better than dead or without a home and family again. Well, family other than his brothers. Who he was hurting.

When he'd finally had enough of moping, and making his brothers miserable, Luffy started intense training. He refused the wheelchair and just used other people as crutches while he tried to get a hang of using his fruit around his legs. Since they likely wouldn't get any worse, according to Whiskey, he did his best.

The commanders all heard about it and the information trickled down into their own divisions. Soon, everyone were helping Luffy. Or trying to. Luffy would refuse the help, and Whitebeard told them all to not push him or they'd just make things worse. They listened, and soon things were back to how they were, besides Luffy still being injured.

Luffy slipped out of Ace and Sabo's grasp when walking to the bathroom, and fell forward only for his lower leg to snap forward and catch him. The three stopped immediately, trying to figure out what Luffy had done to suddenly improve.

He sat on the bed, trying to think about what had happened. Ace and Sabo did as well. Whatever he'd done was vast improvement. All night, they were up and thinking about what had happened. Maybe, he would try and separately control the parts of his legs that needed to be used to walk. He also had to work his toes as well, as those were damaged, too. The only good thing was that he wasn't in pain from the injury. Not anymore.

The next day, Luffy coated his legs, only leaving certain parts exposed, like his knee and the top of his foot. The rest were covered. He concentrated and focused on moving his lower leg forward. Then, he focused on bending his foot to land, moving his toes into a position that was natural. It was hard, since he'd never really focused on how to move his legs. It was always just natural to do so.

So, he sat on deck for hours, watching people walk back and forth. It was the first time in awhile that he'd voluntarily gone outside, now embarrassed to the extreme with the loss of being able to normally move his legs. He honestly rather have been burned by hard alcohol than lose mobility. He didn't care about scars or lasting burns, he wanted to be normal and _this _wasn't normal.

He didn't tell anyone what he was doing so they would purposely walk unnaturally to try and help him. He eventually fell asleep out on deck, and Whitebeard walked over and gently picked him up in one hand to bring to Marco's Special room with his brothers, thinking being out of the infirmary for awhile was a good idea.

After Luffy woke up, he was frightened at first before he realized someone must have brought him there. Ace and Sabo were reading, Ace practicing writing. He was doing much better than Luffy was. But, Luffy had much more important things to learn. Like how to walk again.

He covered his legs back the way he had before, only over important parts, and relied on the hours of watching people run and walk naturally. Ace and Sabo noticed him standing up and were on either side to help him, though didn't touch him so he could try on his own first, and then would help if he ended up needing it.

Closing his eyes to concentrate, Luffy controlled the stick on his left thigh to move up and forward, then for his calf to move forwards, foot up and then bent down, toes in a position to set it back down. He was now one foot further towards the door.

Ace and Sabo stayed quiet, though they felt like cheering, so that Luffy could focus. He had trouble staying on balance when he did the other leg the same, and made the sole of his left foot stick to the ground.

Five more steps and Luffy was at the door. He couldn't tell if he'd moved, eyes closed as he was so concentrated on making the hardened stick move on its own, just dragging the parts of his legs with them. It was incredibly difficult.

He finally fell when he timed it wrong, and Ace and Sabo caught him before he hit the wall. "Ace, Sabo… I walked," Luffy said in a hush, like he wasn't able to believe it. Sabo and Ace hugged him in a group hug, telling him how amazing he was. Luffy sniffled and soon he was crying out in relief. He could walk again, he wasn't going to be on a wheelchair the rest of his life! He _could _do it! And by himself, no one taught him to do it like that.

Marco helped a lot, though. He was the first one to point out using his devil fruit to help himself. And it had _worked. _

The three didn't tell anyone, wanting to make it a surprise when Luffy was able to do it longer. To walk out on deck and confuse everyone. It looked like Luffy wore armor when he walked using his fruit. The three kept his practice to themselves, using the physical therapy room with permission so they could figure it out themselves. The nurses didn't know how far along Luffy was, though. It was a miracle. No, it was how powerful Luffy was, and smart.

After he was able to walk across the room, he focused on running. It was near impossible to run as he was now, since he fell every time. But, the success of walking a good distance had lifted his spirits immensely. And having his brothers with him but not helping with everything lifted him up even higher.

He felt empowered, and hopeful that he could again run some day. He could play tag. He just needed to practice enough that it became natural to use it without having to have all of his concentration on it.

After Luffy was able to walk twice there and back across the room without losing concentration, face red from how focused he was, they decided to show someone. Well, everyone. They had been keeping to themselves for the last week that almost no one saw them outside anymore, or passed them in the hallways.

Everyone was probably worried, and wishing to know how he was doing. They would know, that day. Maybe everyone would stop worrying about him; it was increasingly annoying and uncomfortable. Something good about this whole thing was that he didn't focus on his past trauma after being so miserable about something else.

The three knew that the trauma may come back once he didn't have his entire brain focused only on improving physically, but Luffy would welcome the nightmares with open arms if it meant he moved on from this disability.

_Be brave and try to move on. _

Ace went out of the infirmary after eating breakfast in bed with his brothers, like usual, and checked out to see if Whitebeard and a lot of other people were on deck. They were, and Ace excitedly ran back to the room housing his precious brothers. Luffy was grinning, something that had been absent for far too long.

He was also excited that he was far enough along that he had it down, it just wasn't automatic yet, that he could try using his powers in other parts of his body while focusing on his legs, too. He would need to learn to do that to be anywhere near how he was before the buster call. Sabo carried Luffy on his back to the deck, and set him down in the doorway. He formed the strategically placed plates of hardened stick on his legs and bare feet, which would be bare for awhile, and confidently walked out onto deck.

Whitebeard was first to notice them, and boomed out laughter, but the boys knew he was just happy, he wasn't laughing _at _Luffy. Some turned to him, wondering what set him off, before others noticed Luffy walking over, though his face was a bit red from concentrating only on the move of his legs and feet.

Nobody spoke for a few seconds before cheers erupted, not startling Luffy with it's suddenness. Luffy smiled a wobbly smile, small though it was, no one but his brothers had seen it in many weeks. Luffy kept walking until he was standing in front of Whitebeard, who was grinning down at him.

"I'm amazed, son. Did you come up with this yourself?" he asked loudly, everyone listening. Luffy shrugged, which was much easier to do now than it was a couple weeks ago.

"Marco started it all, but I came up with this," he said looking down at his feet. The concentration broke and Luffy wobbled forward until a huge hand caught him. "I still have to concentrate a lot on it and it's still kinda hard," he explained. "But… Pops, I can walk again. No more wheelchair."

Ace and Sabo ran over and hugged him, beaming as well. He may still not be back to how he was before the buster call, but Luffy was _smiling _and _walking _and _hoping _again, and that was more than what anyone could ask for now.

-x-

Luffy ran across the deck in a game of tag, making loud, clacking thuds as his hardened feet hit the deck. He was still going barefoot, but a month after he first walked, Luffy was able to run. He was able to jump. He was incredible and no one knew the extent of his improvements. The crew was amazed, as no one had made such progress on their devil fruits as Luffy had in such a short amount of time.

The day before, was the first pirate battle that Luffy was allowed to take part in after the buster call. He was watched closely by those around him in case he had a moment of weakness, but he used the weaker pirates as practice dummies for using the very hard plates on his legs to kick up high enough to reach their crotch with what felt like metal and not someone's bare foot.

Since he'd learned to control the movement of his stick without any momentum, he was able to move it out of his body in purposeful directions, sometimes grabbing the pirates to powerfully throw them into the sea and so far out they could no longer be seen.

Every day, Luffy grew happier. It was like every single step he took was one tiny inch up a ladder he was getting nearer and nearer to the top of. His arms were all better, but he was still not allowed to turn into the full beast form, and he was fine with that. After all, he had no one to kidnap and preferred beating people than to slashing them open or crunching them and spitting them out, soaking himself if their sticky blood.

The tattoo steadily disappeared with Izo's work, making Luffy feel like he'd been shackled to his old life with that mark, and now it was gone.

With Luffy back in action, able to function on his own, Ace and Sabo stepped up their game, wanting to catch up to their brother. They sparred every day, while Luffy focused on manipulating his extended stick, which he could harden easily in only some places while the rest were sticky. Ace's fruit abilities were impressive for how he'd only had it for about six and a half months.

Sabo had become used to the weight of his jitte and was better at using it as an extension of his arm and not a weapon he was holding.

Days on the Moby Dick were no longer too long. They passed quickly as Luffy had fun and his brothers grew stronger. The youngest hadn't had a single nightmare in three weeks. Maybe it was his mind and body telling him they didn't want baths because then he would become imobile, and he never wanted to feel that again. _Ever. _

The pieces of Luffy that hadn't been put back together yet were held in his family's hands, waiting to help return them to their places. That's what they were there for, and the brothers finally felt like they belonged to a family.

The youngest had still not gone to see Wendy anymore, since he felt he didn't need to. Some suggested he still went, but he didn't want to and no one made him. Luffy thought that not having nightmares or being scared of loud noises meant the trauma was gone, but that wasn't the case. He was still afraid of meeting new people, and averse to the extreme to killing and especially drawing any blood. But, he thought he was better and no one wanted to correct him. Not so soon, at least.

Luffy, since he'd set foot on the Moby Dick, had been hurt by event after event, damaging his mind and body in the process, but it was losing something as significant as the ability to walk, and overcoming something that would be impossible for someone else made him see the self-worth he had realized he'd had. It couldn't have been done without his family to help, but he accomplished something he'd always remember.

It made him content, and it freed his brothers from constant worry and sadness. The Whitebeards couldn't be happier and, after the buster call, had made it abundantly clear that Luffy would not act on his own anymore when it came to fights or battles.

Luffy listened to his father and captain, and did as he wished, letting his family, new and old, protect him when he needed it. He wasn't alone, and wouldn't be ever again, even if the boys did decided to leave in five years.

Whitebeard was pretty sure they'd choose to stay after all that happened. And if they didn't, that was their choice and the crew would miss them dearly. The boys had just tasted freedom less than seven months ago - were still healing in many ways -, and no one would take that away from them. It was out of the question.

The End.


End file.
